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Bird- Lore 


AN ILLUSTRATED BI-MONTHLY MAGAZINE DEVOTED TO 
THE STUDY AND PROTECTION OF BIRDS 


EDITED BY 


FRANK M. CHAPMAN 


Official Dragan of the Audubon Societies 
AUDUBON DEPARTMENT EDITED By 


MABEL OSGOOD WRIGHT 


AND 


WILLIAM DUTCHER 


VOLUME X—rg908 


THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 


HARRISBURG, PA., AND NEW YORK CITY 


20373] 


INDEX TO ARTICLES IN VOLUME X 
BY AUTHORS 


Abbott, Clarence, Christmas Census, 28. 

Abbott, Clinton G., and Francis Harper, 
Christmas Census, 28. 

Abercrombie, Dan, and Barron Brainerd, 
and John B. Brainerd, Christmas Cen- 
sus, 25. 

Allen, Francis H., A Raven’s Nest, 195. 

Allen, Mary Pierson, Christmas Census, 
30; Hummingbird Eccentricities, 198. 

Allison, Andrew, Secretary, Report of, 306. 

Andrews, Roy C., Sea Birds and Whalers, 
260. 

Armstrong, Edward E., and Carl C. Law- 
son, Christmas Census, 37. 

Arnold, Clarence M., Christmas Census, 
26; A Brown Creeper’s Mistake, 81. 
Ayers, M. A., Briars as Nest Protectors, 

120. 


Barton, Ethel R., Christmas Census, 23. 

Batchelder, Mrs. F. W. Secretary, Report 
of, 308. 

Baxter, Miss M., Mrs. J. G. Sutton, Mr. 
J. G. Sutton, and Mrs. P. B. Coffin, 
Christmas Census, 36. 

Beall, Laura F., A Southern Illinois Lunch 
Counter, 255. 

Beaupré, Edwin, Photograph by, 113. 

Beck, Herbert H., Christmas Census, 32. 

Beckwith, Mabel F., see Henderson, Cora. 

Bennett, F. M., Christmas Census, 33; A 
Winter Bird Resort, 260. 

Bent, A. C., The Sea Bird’s Fortress, 237. 

Bishop, Louis B., The Most Southern 
Starling Records, 81. 

Blanchard, George G., see Wing, James A. 

Bliss, Lucy B., Christmas Census, 26. 

Boardman, Elizabeth D., and Bridge, 
Lidian E., Christmas Census, 24. 

Bohlman, H. T., Photographs by, 135, 136. 

Borgen, Nels., Futhjof Wace, and Charles 
Phillips, Christmas Census, 38. 

Bowdish, B. S., Photograph by, 46; Alien 
License Law, 97; When Doctors Disa- 
gree, 171; A Flicker’s Home, 174. 

Brainerd, Barron, Christmas Census, 24; 
see Abercrombie, Dan. 

Brainerd, John B., see Abercrombie, Dan. 

Bridge, Edmund, and Lidian, Christmas 
Census, 23, 24. 

Bridge, Lidian E., Christmas Census, 24; 
List of Birds Observed, 118. 

Brodhead, Mrs. Lucas, Christmas Census, 


34- 

Brown, C. D., A Winter Rose-breasted 
Grosbeak, 82. 

Brown, Charles E., Secretary, Report of, 
318. 

Brown, Edwin C., Photograph by, 256. 


Brown, Frank A., and C. Emerson Brown 
Christmas Census, 26. 

Bruen, Frank, Christmas Census, 27. 

Butler, Jefferson, Christmas Census, 36; 
Secretary’s Report, 306. 

Butrick, P. L., Christmas Census, 27. 


Calvert, E. Wellington, Christmas Census, 
2h 

Carey, Henry R., Photograph by, 102, 249. 

Carpenter, Miss, Lucy V. Baxter Coffin, 
and P. B. Coffin, Christmas Census, 36. 

Carson, Alma, Secretary, Report of, 313. 

Caskey, R. C., Christmas Census, 29. 

Chace, Mrs. M. Emma, Christmas Cen- 
sus, 20. 

Chapman, Frank M., A Bird Friend, 14; 
reviews by, 40,41, 84,85, 86, 131,132,175, 
176, 266, 267. Editorials by, 44, 87, 134, 
178, 220, 269; The Home Life of the 
American Egret, 59; Information wanted, 
130; The Fish Hawks of Gardiner’s Is- 
land, 153; Photograph by, 212; The Use 
of a Blind in the Study of Bird Life, 250. 

Chatsey, Mrs. T. C., Christmas Census, 27. 

Childs, Helen P., Secretary, Report of, 298. 

Clarke, William Cogswell, A Family of 
Great Owls, 99. 

Coffin, Lucy V. 
Miss. 

Coffin, Mrs. P. B., see Baxter, Miss M. 

Coffin, Percival B., A Winter Robin, 83; 
see Carpenter, Miss. 

Conwell, John, Jr., see McConnell, Harry 
B 


Baxter, see Carpenter, 


Cooke, W. W, The Migration of Fly- 
catchers, 16, 77, 114, 166, 210, 258. 
Coolidge, J. T., 3rd., see Peters, James L. 
Crane, Robert, Christmas Census, 28. 
Crolius, Anne A., A Prothonotary Warbler 
in Central Park, 128; Tufted Titmouse 
in Central Park, 129; A Correction, 174. 


Davis, M. B., Secretary, Report of, 315. 

Dawson, W. Leon, From a Westerner’s 
Standpoint, 20; Christmas Census, 38. 

Dayton, Reddington, see Smith, Wilbur 
EF 


Dean, R. H., Christmas Census, 35. 

Denniston, R. H., Christmas Census, 37. 

DeVine, J. L., Christmas Census, 37. 

Dickerson, Mary C., Chestnut-sided War- 
bler—A Study, 207. 

Dillon, F. N., see Whitney, Alvin G. 

Dingle, Edward S., Notes on the Wood 
Thrush, 217. 

Dix, W. L., Christmas Census, 30. 

Drummond, Mary, Secretary, Report of, 
300. 


iv Index 


Dutcher, William, Editorials by, 51, 94, 
142, 183, 225; Annual Meeting of the 
National Association, 274; Address of 
the President, 277. 

Dwight, J. D., Jr., Reviews by, 86, 132, 
218, 267. 

Dykeman, Mrs. C. A., Christmas Cen- 
sus, 27. 


Earle, Carlos, Christmas Census, 33. 


Earle, Eleanor P., Christmas Census, 33. 
Eck, Rev. Walter I., Christmas Census, 33. 


Elinger, C. E., see Schmucker, S. C. 
Ellison, Emma, see McConnell, Harry B. 
Evans, William B., Christmas Census, 30. 


Fair, William W., Christmas Census, 30. 

Ferguson, Mary Van E., Christmas Cen- 
sus, 28. 

Fife, J. A., and Jno. M. Schreck, Christ- 
mas Census, 38. 

Finley, W. L., Annual Report of, 291. 

Finley, W. L., and Bohlman, H. T., Photo- 
graph by, 290, 292. 293. 

Fisher, Elizabeth W., Secretary, Report 
of, 314. 

Fisher, M. L., Christmas Census, 36. 

Fisher, Mr., and Mrs. G. Clyde, Christ- 
mas Census, 34. 

Flanagan, Wm. M., and Wm. Rochow, 
Christmas Census, 32. 

Fleischer, Edward, Rare Birds in Prospect 
Park, Brooklyn, N. Y., 264. 

Forbush, E. H., Massachusetts Notes, 227; 
Annual Report, 288. 

Fordyce, Geo. L., and Rev. S. F. Wood, 
Christmas Census, 35. 

Fowler, Harold M., Christmas Census, 27. 

Frances, Sarah, see Henderson, Cora. 

Fuertes, L. A., Plate by, facing, I, 59, 99. 

Gates, Frank C., Christmas Census, 36; 
and Ralph P. Gates, Christmas Census, 
36. 

Gates, Ralph P., see Gates Frank C. 

Gill, John B., Christmas Census, 32. 

Gilluwe, Emma van, Christmas Census, 
30; A Tragedy in Bird Life, 216. 

Gilluwe, Frank van, Photograph by, 216. 

Glover, Helen W., Secretary, Report of, 


295. 

Goodpasture, Albert V., A Mockingbird’s 
June, 201. 

Goodwin, S. H., What the Starling Does at 
Home, 130. 

Graves, Frances M., Christmas Census, 26. 

Graves, Mr. and Mrs. E. W., Christmas 
Census, 35. 

Griffiths, B. W., and Chreswell J. Hunt, 
Christmas Census, 32. 

Griscom, Ludlow, Central Park Notes, 
263. 

Gurley, A. B., Christmas Census, 28. 


Habbard, G. F., see Whitney, Alvin G. 


Hankinson, Mr. and Mrs. T. C., Christ- 
mas Census, 34. 

Harper, Francis, see Abbott, Clinton, G. 

Harriet Ornithological Society, Christmas 
Census, 38. 

Hartwick, G. E., Christmas Census, 23. 

Hathorn, Glen M., Christmas Census, 37. 

Heil, Charles E., Christmas Census, 25, 26; 
The Brown Thrasher, 103. 

Henderson, Cora, Mabel F. Beckwith, and 
Sarah Frances, Christmas Census, 37. 

Henderson, Junius, The American Dipper 
in Colorado, tr. 

Hilles, Florence B., Secretary, Report of, 
207: : 

Hill, J. Irving, Christmas Census, 26. 

Hill, Thomas R., A Southern Starling 
Record, 130. 

Hix, George E., Christmas Census, 28; 
and C. H. Rogers, Christmas Census, 29. 

Hodgman, Edith M., Christmas Census, 
26. 

Holmes, Georgianna K., Secretary, Report 
of, 310. ; 

Honywill, Albert W., Jr., Christmas Census 
6 


26. 

Horsfall, Bruce, Plates by, facing, 47, 90, 
138, 153, 179, 195, 221; A Robin Note, 
215. 

Howe, Carlton D., Secretary, Report of, 
207 

Howe, Florence A., Secretary, Report of, 
301. 

Howe, F. E., Photographs by, 39, 209. 

Hunt, Chandler Robbins, see Robbins, 
Samuel Dowse. 

Hunt, Chreswell J., see Griffiths, B. W. 

Hunter Samuel, Christmas Census, 23. 


Job, Herbert K., Photograph by, 188, 276, 


282. 
Judd, Robert S., The Prairie Horned Lark 
in Fairfield County, Connecticut, 129. 


Keyser, Leander S., Over-productive 
Robins, 83; Two Sparrow Episodes, 


174. 
Kimball, Jessie E., Secretary, Report of, 


305. 
Kittedge’ J., and R. M. Marble, Christ- 
mas Census, 25. 
Kohler, Louis S., Christmas Census. 29. 
Kopman, H. H., Inspection of Breton 
Island Reservation, Louisiana, 229; 
Inspection of East Timbalier Reserva- 
tion, Louisiana, August 3, 1908, 231. 
Kruger, Helen M., Christmas Census, 31. 


Lacey, Lottie Alvord, Redpoll Linnets, ro. 

Lampman, Archibald, Snowbirds, (Poem), 
50. 

Larson, Adrian, Christmas Census, 38. 

Latham, Harry, Frank and Roy, Christ- 
mas Census, 29. 


Index V 


Lawson, Carl C.,see Armstrong, Edward E. 
Lear, George, Christmas Census, 31. 
Learned, Agnes M., A Bittern Study, 106. 
Lee, Robert M., Christmas Census, 35. 


Lemmon, Isabel McC., Hummingbird 
Notes, 126. 

Leonard, Mrs. A. G., Secretary, Report 
of, 311. 


Lewis, Elta M., Christmas Census, 39. 

Lewis, Evan, Photograph by, 17. 

Lockwood, Emma H., Secretary, Report 
of, 311. 


Maddock, Emeline, A Thrasher Friend, 


253. 

Marble, R. M., see Peters, James L., see 
Kittredge, J. 

Marrs, Mrs. Kingsmill, Secretary, Report 
of, 299. 

Marx, Edward J. F., Christmas Census, 


30. 
McConnell, Harry B., Christmas Census, 


35- 

McConnell, Harry B., John Conwell, Jr., 
and Emma Ellison, Christmas Census, 35. 

McKinnon, Angus, A Pair of Blue-gray 
Gnatcatchers That Moved Their Nest, 
173; The Wit of a Florida Nighthawk, 
261. 

Meister, H. D., Christmas Census, 30. 

Miller, Ansel L., Christmas Census, 32. 

Miller, Frank M., President, Report of, 
304. 

Miller, James H., Photograph by, 13. 

Miller, Milo H., Christmas Census, 32. 

Miller, Richard F., Christmas Census, 30. 

Mitchell, I. N., Christmas Census, 37. 

Moore, M. Harry, A Little Blue Heron 
Rookery, 163. 

Moxley, George L., A Hummingbird’s 
Toilet, 173. 

Moyer, Louise B., Song of Kirtland’s 
Warbler, 264. 

Murphy, Robert Cushman, see Washburn, 
Gertrude. 


Nash, H. W., Photograph by, 6. 
Norfolk, Bird Club Christmas Census, 24. 
Norris, William M., Jr., Christmas Census, 


33: 
Norton, Arthur H., Secretary, Report of, 
305. 


Pabody, E. F., Jr., Christmas Census, 38. 

Packard, W. H., and C. S. Van Deusen, 
Christmas Census, 36; Christmas Cen- 
sus, 27. 

Palmer, T. S., Reviews by, 42, 132, 218, 
268. 

Pangburn, D. B., Photograph by, 206; see 
Saunders, A. A. 

Pangburn, D. B., Clifford H. Pangburn, 
and A. A. Saunders, Christmas Census, 


27. 


Partridge, Newton L., Bird Notes from 
Chicago, 173. 

Patton, John S., and Leonard S. Pearson, 
Christmas Census, 32. 

Peabody, P. B., Familiar Bird Names, 122. 

Pearson, Leonard S., see Patton, John S. 

Pearson, L. S., Christmas Census, 31; see 
Redfield, A. C. 

Pearson, T. Gilbert, Mortality Among 
Birds, 124; Notes from North Carolina, 
228; Secretary’s Report, 284, 311. 

Pennington, F. A., Arrival of Winter Birds 
in. Chicago, 264. 

Pennock, C. J., Christmas Census, 31; and 
Spencer Trotter, Christmas Census, 33. 

Pepoon, H. S., Christmas Census, 36, 


37- 

Perkins, Edward H., The Common Names 
of North American Birds, 78. 

Perry, George P., Nest of Wood Thrush 
into which a Cowbird Had Deposited 
Five eggs, 126. 

Peters, James L., Christmas Census, 24; 

and R. M. Marble, and J. T. Coolidge, 
3rd., Christmas Census, 24; List of 
Birds observed, 118. 

Petry, Loren C., Albino Flickers, 127. 

Phillips, Charles, see Borgen, Nels. 

Pierce, Nettie Sellinger, Christmas Cen- 
sus, 28. 

Pitcairn, Wm. G., Christmas Census, 32. 

Pope, Alexander, Nest-building in August, 
214. 

Putnam, Grace, see Putman, Mrs. E. H. 

Putnam, Mrs. E. H., and Grace, Christ- 
mas Census. 37. 


Ratterman, M. Katherine, Secretary, Re- 
port of, 312. 

Redfield, A. C., Christmas Census, 31; 
and C. H. Rogers, Christmas Census, 
28; see Stackpole, R. E, and Pearson, L. 
C., Christmas Census, 31. 

Reed, Elizabeth A., Protecting 
Birds from the Cats, 215. 

Richards, George, Christmas Census, 38. 

Rief, H., Secretary, Report of, 317. 

Robbins, Samuel Dowse, Christmas Cen- 
sus, 25; and Chandler Robbins Hunt, 
Christmas Census, 25, 

Rochow, Wm., see Flanagan, Wm.M. 
Rogers, C. H., see Stackpole, R. E., see 
Redfield, A. C., see Hix, George E. 

Rowley, J., Photograph by, 4. 


Young 


Sanford, F. E., see Sanford, L. R. 

Sanford, James, Christmas Census, 38. 

Sanford, L. R., and F. E., Christmas Cen- 
sus, 36. 

Sass, Herbert Ravenel, The Return of the 
Snowy Heron, 160. 

Saunders, A. A., The Growth of Young 
Black-billed Cuckoos, 205; Photograph 
by, 2509. 


vi Index 


Saunders, A. A., and D. B. Pangburn, 
Christmas Census, 26, 27. 

Sawyer, Edmund, Jr., The Drumming of 
the Ruffed Grouse, 246. 

Schippang, A. H., A Strange Friendship, 


79: 

Schmucker, S. C., and C. E. Ehinger 
Christmas Census, 31. : 

Schreck, Jno. M., see Fife, J. A. 

Scott, Alvin J., and E. W. Calvert, Christ- 
mas Census, 23. 

Scribner, Julia S., Secretary, Report of, 


300. 

Sharples, R. P., Trustful Birds, 80; 
Nature’s Remedies, 83. 

Shiras, George 3d., Photograph by, 76, 89, 
110. 

Sims, Robert, Drawing by, 14. 

Small, Mrs. W. B., President, Report of, 


302. 

Smith, Chester, W., Christmas Census, 37. 

Smithson, A. F., and B. M. Stigall, Christ- 
mas Census, 34. 

Smith, Wilbur F., The Value of the Star- 
ling, 79. 

Smith, Wilbur F., and Reddington Dayton 
Christmas Census, 27. 

Squires, K. -B., Christmas Census, 29. 

Staat, W. C., Christmas Census, 37. 

Stackpole, R. E., A. C. Redfield, and C. H. 
Rogers, Christmas Census, 28. 

Stansell, Sidney S. S., The Bird that Nests 
in the Snow, 7; Christmas Census, 38. 

Starr, Minna D., Secretary, Report of, 305. 

Steele, Frederic Dorr, Photograph by, 196. 

Stephens, H. M., Photograph by, 15. 

Stigall, B. M., see Smithson, A. F. 

Stone, Witmer, Reviews by, 176. 

Strong, R. M., A Bittern Photograph, r1o. 

Strong, Russel W., Christmas Census, 29. 

Sullivan, Richard H., President, Report 
of, 303. 

Sutton, Mr. J. G., see Baxter, Miss. M. 

Sutton, Mrs. J. G., see Baxter, Miss M. 


Thayer, Mrs. Stephen V., Notes on the 

. Varied Thrush at Everett, Washington, 
213. 

Thomas, Edith M., Entangled in the Bur- 
dock, (Poem), 46; The Skylark Pro 
Wem, 123% 

Thornber, Mrs. J. J., Secretary, Report of, 
296. 

Tinker, A. D., Notes on Kirtland’s War- 
bler at Ann Arbor, Michigan, 81; 
Notes on the Mourning Dove, 82; Notes 
on the Rose-breasted Grosbeak, 217. 

Towne, John R., President, Report of, 308. 


Townsend, Charles H., Sea Birds as 
Homing Pigeons, 123; Observations on 
a Tame Loon, 171. 

Trafton, Gilbert H., and Edward Uehling, 
Christmas Census, 29; The Nest in the 
Gutter, 72; Attracting Birds, 98; What 
Birds Will Nest in Houses, 225. 

Tricks, L. D., Migration in New Mexico, 
262. P 

Trotter, Spencer, M. D., see Pennock, C. 

' J., The Background of Ornithology, 68. 

Tudbury, Warren C., Photograph by, 105, 


Lazo: 
Tullsen, H., The Dickcissel on Pine Ridge 
Indian Reservation, South Dakota, 262. 


Uehling, Edward, see Trafton, Gilbert. 


Valentine, Anna J., Christmas Census, 32. 
Van Deusen, C. S., see Packard, W. H. 


Wace, Futhjof, see Borgen, Nels. 
Wade, Jessie H., and Francis C., Christ- 
mas Census, 23. 

Walmsley, H. R., Christmas Census, 35. 
Washburn, Gertrude A., and Robert Cush- 
man Murphy, Christmas Census, 28. 
Watrous, Mrs. F. E., Christmas Census, 


34- 
Way, W. Scott, Secretary, Report of, 296. 
Wellman, Gordon B., and Horace W. 
Wright, Christmas Census, 23, 25. 
Welty, Emma J., Secretary, Report of, 


Bie 

Whitney, Alvin G., F. N. Dillon, and G. F. 
Habbard, Christmas Census, 23. 

Wilcox, Alice W., Secretary, Report of, 
315. 

Wildman, Marian Warner, Identification 
Sketches, 128. 

Wiley, Farida, Christmas Census, 35. 

Wilson, Burtis H., Christmas Census, 36. 

Wing, James A., and George G. Blanch- 
ard, Christmas Census, 23. 

Wood, Rey. S. F., see Fordyce, Geo. L. 

Woodruff, E. Seymour, Nesting Habits of 
the Henslow’s Sparrow, 11t. 

Woodward, Magnolia, Christmas Census, 


34. ; 

Wright, Horace W., Christmas Census, 25; 
see Wellman, Gordon B. 

Wright, Mabel Osgood, February Hints, 
45; The Snowflake, 47; A Good Ex- 
ample, 88; The Song Sparrows, 90; 
Bird Houses and School Children, 135; 
The Barn Swallow, 138; The Tree 
Swallow, 179; American  Crossbill, 
White-winged Crossbill, 270. 


Index Vii 


INDEX TO CONTENTS 


Albatross, Black-footed, 261. 

Alberta, 7, 38. 

American Nature-Study Society, notice of 
organization of, 137. 

American Ornithologists’ Union, Twenty- 
fifth Annual Congress of, 17; Twenty- 
sixth Congress of, 265. 

Auk, Razor-billed, 243. 

Auk, The, reviewed, 86, 132, 218, 267. 


Beal’s ‘Birds as Conservators of the For- 
est,’ reviewed, 41; ‘Birds of California in 
Relation to the Fruit Industry’, reviewed 


84. 

Beebe’s, ‘List of Birds Living in the New 
York ZcGdlogical Park,’ reviewed, 84; 
‘Geographical Variation in Birds With 
Especial Reference to the Effects of Hu- 
midity,’ reviewed, 84; ‘Preliminary 
Report of an Investigation on the Sea- 
sonal changes of color in Birds,’ re- 
viewed, 175. 

Bird Census, The Eighth Christmas, 22; 
Ninth Christmas, noticed, 257. 

Bird-houses, 225. 

Bird Lists, The Massachusett’s Audubon 
Society’s, 118. 

Bird Rock, 237. 

Birds, Mortality Among, 124. 

Bittern, American, 106; figured, 109, 110. 

Blinds, The Use of in Studying Birds, 250. 

Bobolink, 123. 

Bob-white, 79, 216. 

British Columbia, 260. 

Bunting, Snow, 264. 


California, 38, 39, 173. 

Cardinal, figured, 39, 173. 

Cassinia, reviewed, 175. 

Cats, Protecting Young Birds from, 215. 

Chapman’s ‘Camps and Cruises of an 
Ornithologist,’ noticed, 219. 

Chickadee, 174. ° 

Colorado, 1, 38. 

Condor, The, reviewed, 42, 132, 218, 268. 

Connecticut, 11, 26, 27, 79, 81, III, 129, 205. 

Council, Brrp-LorE’s Advisory, 18. 

Cowbird, 127. 

Creeper, Brown, 81. 

Crossbill, American, 270. 

Crossbill White-winged, 270. 

Cuba, 260. 

Cuckoo, Black-billed, 205. 


Dearborn’s ‘Catalogue of a Collection of 
Birds from Guatemala,’ noticed. 177. 

Delaware, 32. 

Dickcissel, 262. 

Dipper, American, 
figured, 6. 

Dove, Mourning, 82. 


i scipureds 2,0 mest 


Egret, American, 59; figured, 245. 


Farmington Mountain Reservation, 191. 
Finley’s ‘American Birds Studied and 
Photographed from life,’ reviewed, 4o. 

Flicker, 127, 174. 

Florida, 33, 34, 163, 173, 261. 

Flycatcher, Alder, figured, facing 99; 115. 
Beardless, figured, facing, 237; 258. 
Buff-breasted, figured, facing 59; 77. 
Coues’ figured, facing 237; 259. Derby, 
figured, facing 237; 258. Gray, figured, 
facing 59; 77. Green-crested, figured, 
facing, 99; 114. Hammond’s, figured, 
facing, 59; 77 Least, figured, facing 99; 
116. Olive-sided, figured, facing 237; 
258, 264. St. Lucas, 78. Traill’s, 11s; 
Western, figured, facing 59; 77. 
Wright’s, figured, facing 59; 77. Yellow- 
bellied, figured, facing 99; 114, 264. 

Frigate Bird, 123. 


Gannet, 240. 

Gnatcatcher, Blue-gray, 173. 

Goldfinch, American, 46. 

Grackle, Purple, 263. 

Grebe, Western, figured, 293. 

Grosbeak, Rose-breasted, 82; figured, 105, 
209; 217. 

Grosbeak, Evening, 264. 

Grouse, Ruffed, 246; figured, 246. 

Gull, Laughing, figured, 276. 


Hawk, Fish, 153. 

Hen, Prairie, 173. 

Henshaw’s ‘The Policemen of the Air, 
reviewed, 131. 

Heron, Black-crowned Night, figured, 102; 
264. Great Blue, 62. Green, figured, 
t1o. Little Blue, 63, 66, 163. Louisiana, 
63, 66. Snowy, 160, 226; figured, 282. 
Yellow-crowned Night, 62. 

Homing Instinct of Birds, 134. 

Howard’s ‘The British Warblers,’ re- 
viewed, 178. 

Howell’s ‘Destruction of the Cotton Boll- 
Weevil by Birds in Winter,’ reviewed, 
175; ‘Notes on the Winter Birds of 
Northern Louisiana,’ reviewed, 268. 

Hummingbird, Ruby-throated, 126,173,108. 


Ibis, White-faced Glossy, figured, 292. 
Identification Sketches, 128. 

Tikinois;, 36; 37,.'83, BXG, (526,173, 255; 
Indiana, 35, 36. 

lowa, 37. 


Jay, Canada, 7; figured, 8. 
Florida, Blue figured, 212. 

Jones’s, ‘The Development of Nestiing 
Feathers,’ reviewed, 41. 


Vill 


Journal of the Maine Ornithological So- 
ciety, reviewed, 176. 


Kansas, 35. 

Kentucky, 34. 

Keyser’s‘ Our Bird Comrades,’ reviewed, 86. 

Kingbird, 72; figured, facing 153; 100. 
Arkansas, figured, facing 1; 16. Cas- 
sin’s, figured, facing 1; 16. Couch’s, 
figured, facing 1; 16. Gray, figured, 
facing 153; figured, 162. 

Kingfisher, Belted, figured, 13. 

Kinglet, Golden-crowned, 221; figured, fac- 
ing 221. Ruby-crowned, 221; figured, fac- 
ing 221. 

Kirkham’s ‘In the Open,’ reviewed, 266. 

Kittiwake, 240. ; 

Knight’s‘The Birdsof Maine,’ reviewed, 266. 


Lark, Prairie Horned, 129. 
Law, Alien License, 97. 
Loon, 171. 

Lunch Counter, Birds’, 255. 


MacSwain’s ‘A Catalogue of the Birds of 
Prince Edward Island,’ reviewed, 176. 

Maine, 195, 249. 

Mallard, figured, 76. 

Martin, Purple, 174. 

Massachusetts, 23, 24, 25, 26, 103, 106, 214. 

McAtee’s ‘Food Habits of Grosbeaks,’ 
reviewed, 132. 

Merriam’s ‘Report of the Chief of the 
Bureau of Biological Survey for 1907,’ 
reviewed, 85. 

Michigan, 82, 83, 217. 

Miller’s ‘The Bird Our Brother,’ reviewed, 

Minnesota, 38, 264. [aa 

Mississippi, 34. 

Missouri, 34, 35, 40. 

Mockingbird, 201. 

Mullen’s ‘Gilbert White of Selborne,’ 

reviewed, 84. 

Murre, 241. 


Names, Vernacular, of Birds, 20,78,122, 220. 

New Hampshire, 23. 

New Haven Bird Clubs’ List of the Birds 
of the New Haven Region, 176. 

New Jersey, 29, 30, 72, 82, 99, 126, 174, 
198, 216, 253. 

New Mexico, 262. 

New York, 27, 28, 29, 123, 128, 129, 153, 
174, 246, 263, 264. 

Nighthawk, 150; figured, 170. 

Nighthawk, Florida, 26r. 

Noddy, 134. 

North Carolina, 125. 

Nutcracker, Clarke’s, figured, 17. 


Ohio, 35, 83, 174- 

Ontario, 23. 

Ornithology, The Background of, 68. 
Owl, Barred, 14, 99. Florida Screech, 
_ figured, 89. Screech, 83. 


Index 


Palmer’s ‘Notes on the Summer Birds’ of 
the Yellowtsone Park,’ noticed, 177. 
Pelican, White, figured, 290. 

Pewee, Western Wood, figured, facing 153; 
170. Wood, figured, facing 153; 168. 
Pennsylvania, 30, 31, 32, 79, 83, 127, 139- 

Plume Trade, The, 97, 98, 151, 192, 

Phoebe, figured, facing 195; 210. Black, 
figured, facing 195; 210. Say’s, figured, 
facing 195; 210. 

Protection of Young Birds from Cats, 215. 

Puffin, figured, 113. 


Quail, 79, 2106. 
Quebec, 237. 


Raven, Northern 195. 

Redpoll, 10; figured, 12. 

Refuges, Bird, 145. 

Reservations, Bird, 56, 94, 142, 186, 229. 
Rhode Island, 8r. 

Robin, American, 83, 173, 174, 214, 215. 


Sharp’s‘The Lay ofthe Land,’ reviewed, 266. 

Shaw’s ‘The China or Denny Pheasants 
in Oregon,’ reviewed, 266. 

Siskin, Pine, 264. 

Snowflake, figured, facing 47; 47- 

South Carolina, 33, 217. 

South Dakota, 38, 362. 

Sparrow, English, 83, 174, 178. peklenS 
slow’s, 111. House, 83, 174, 178. Song, 
go; figured, facing 90; 173; figured, 259. 

Sparrows, Song, distribution of, figured, 93. 

Sparrow, Tree, 83. 

Starling, 79, 81, 130. 

Swallow, Barn, 138; figured, facing 138. 
Tree, 179, figured, facing 179. 


Tennessee, 34, 201. : 

Tern, Least, 227. Royal figured, 188. 

Thayer’s ‘The Concealing Coloration of 
Animals,’ noticed, 177. 

Thrasher, Brown, 103, 253. 

Thrush, Varied, 213. Wood, 80, 126, 217 

Titmouse, Tufted, 129, 173. 


Vulture, Turkey, 264. 


Warbler, Cape May, 263, 264. Chestnut- 
sided, 207. Connecticut, 264. Kirtland’s, 
81,264. Macgillivray’s, 263. Mourning, 
263. Myrtle, 264. Prothonotary, 128, 
174. Tennessee, 263. The,reviewed, 42. 

Washington, 38, 213. 

Widmann’s ‘A Preliminary Catalogue of 
the Birds of Missouri,’ reviewed, 40. 
Willow Island, Connecticut, bird refuge, 189. 

Wilson Bulletin, reviewed, 177. 

Wisconsin, 37. 

Woodpecker, Red-headed, 264. 

Wren, Carolina, 264. 

Wright’s ‘Gray Lady and the Birds,’ 
reviewed, 41. 


p EIGHTH CHRISTMAS BIRD CENSUS 
pect: x JANUARY—FEBRUARY, 1908 aver nee 


EDITED BY 


FRANK M. CHAPMAN 


PUBLISHED FOR THE AUDUBON SOOCIETIES 
BY 


The Macmillan Companyp 


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LONDON 


: (ft fis9 


COPYRIGHT, 1908, BY FRANK M. CHAPMAN R. Weber 


 ~—s-«; GBird= Lore 


January-February, 1908 


CONTENTS 


GENERAL ARTICLES : PAGE 
FRONTISPIECE—CoucH’s, CASSIN’S, AND ARKANSAS KINGBIRDS ..---- +++ +222 sse0e- 
Louis Agassiz Fuertes. 
THe AMERICAN DIPPER IN COLORADO. Illustrated by John Rowley and H.W. Nash 
Junius Henderson. I 


Tue Brrp THat Nests IN THE SNOW. Illustrated by the author ............... 
Sidney S. S. Stansell. 7 


REDPOLL LINNETS. Illustrated by the author ........--...--... Lottie Alvord Lacey. 10 
Younc KINGFISHERS .....-. .....-.-... Photograph by James H. Miller. 13 
A BIRD FRIEND ..... Wigsiraied ie 'R. ise ae oe Slephens and F. M. Chapman. 14 
Tue MIGRATION OF FLYCATCHERS. Second Paper. Illustrated with colored plates 
from drawings by Louis Agassiz Fuertes and Bruce Horsjali ...... W.W. Cooke. 16 
Tue TWENTY-FIFTH CONGRESS OF THE AMERICAN ORNITHOLOGISTS’ UNION. PEs 7) 
(CIA anes) INMOANCRUINCIRIBIN . “Accs waco enoogs aeeace 6o0 obed Photograph by Evan ones 17 
| Praeaipyel Donne) NIDA AiSONsAy (COUNCIL shoonunaomenocoo Doane cOnDOooUN cone socu nebo Oy psot0s Tay 
DOME A Sins Nines) SUDAN IDIPOUNY -Se060 aah 1665h 7000000 mas Bane W.L. Dawson. 20 
BirRD-LORE’S EIGHTH CHRISTMAS BIRD CENSUS, WITH Map .............---..----- 22 
CARDINATHON: NESioea seater eee ocae Photograph by F. E. Howe. 39 
BOOK NEWS AND REVIEWS wi ccs cee Sasi 5 od oieis of otes Sere eta neh ole aerate 40 


WIDMANN’S Brrps oF MissouRI; FINLEY’S AMERICAN BIRDS; JONES’ DEVELOPMENT 
or NESTLING FEATHERS; Mrs. WRIGHT’S GRAY LADY AND THE BIRDS; BEAL’S 
BIRDS AS CONSERVATORS OF THE FOREST ; THE ORNITHOLOGICAL MAGAZINES ; 
Book News. 


EDITORIAL. 0). hake he ee eee 


AUDUBON SOCIETIES—SCHOOL DEPARTMENT ... _........... Sees 
Frespruary Hints, M.O.W.; ENTANGLED IN THE BURDOCK. Tllustrated. "Edith 
M. Thomas. 


EDUCATIONAL LEAFLET NO. 30. SNowFLakE, with colored plate by Bruce. Horsjall 
Mabel Osgood Wright 47 


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PROPOSED LEGISLATION WORK IN 1908; ACROSS THE BORDER ; BIG GAME PROTEC- 
TION IN TEXAS; Two NEw AUDUBON SOCIETIES ; ANOTHER AUDUBON PATROL 
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OFFICIAL ORGAN OF THE AUDUBON SOCIETIES 


Vol. X JANUARY — FEBRUARY, 1908 No. 1 


The American Dipper in Colorado 


By JUNIUS HENDERSON 
Curator of Museum, University of Colorado 


bird inhabiting Colorado is Cinclus mexicanus unicolor, commonly called 

the Water Ouzel or Dipper—‘Dipper’ because of the dipping motion of 
the body as it courtesies on the rocks, according to the one who first applied 
the name to the species, not because of its dipping the body into the water, 
as some have supposed. True, many birds are much larger, more highly col- 
ored or in other ways more striking. Indeed, so dull and common-place is the 
‘close-fitting brown and slate-colored garb, and so well does the noise of the 
dashing torrent drown his clear, ringing song, that the majority of visitors to 
our canons are not aware of his existence. Yet, whoever is.permitted to watch 
him for a few moments feels that it is time well spent. Of the species known 
to science the writer is familiar only with the one of this region, but doubtless 
the habits of the others are much the same. Mr. Ridgway gives the following 
brief summary of the habits of the family: 

“They are found only in mountainous or hilly districts, where they frequent 
swift, rocky streams, in which they seek their food, consisting of water insects 
and the spawn of fishes. They are at home in the water, under which they 
propel themselves by motion of their wings; in short, they fly through the water 
as readily as through the air. Their nest is a domed structure, usually placed 
behind or near a waterfall, covered with moss, and kept green by the spray 
which constantly moistens it.” 

The bird student of the ‘prairie states’ who is unfamiliar with the family, 
upon reading the foregoing sentences, may turn to his books and learn that 
the Dippers are allied to the Thrushes, Wrens and other members of the well- 
regulated order of perching birds, and from his familiarity with that order he 
may well exclaim: “Who ever heard of a perching bird flying through the water 
and rearing its young where the spray constantly moistens the nest! Next thing 
we will be asked to believe that this bird which has developed the ability to fly 
through the water with the agility of a Penguin, has retained the ability to fly 


if HAVE long been convinced that the most remarkable and interesting 


2 Bird - Lore 


through the air with the agility of a Flycatcher, leaving the water as neat and 
dry as a Duck, instead of bedraggled as a well-behaved perching bird should 
be under similar circumstances!’”’ Well, that is just what he can do. To be 
convinced, come and see. Come winter or summer, for they are with us the 
year round. Driven from the higher altitudes in the »winter by the freezing 
of the streams, for they must have open water, they seldom come out to the open 
plains, though I have heard their songs and seen them scurrying along the 
creek in Boulder, just at the edge of the plains, in mid-winter. In the spring 
some follow the melting of the ice almost to the tops of the mountains, wherever 
there are dashing brooks and open lakes of clear, cold water. No- water is too 
cold, provided it is clear and not laden with glacial ‘flour’ or polluted with mud 
or mill tailings. No snowstorm can stop their merry whistling in the late winter 
and early spring. 

They nest from 5,000 to 11,000 feet or more above sea-level in Colorado, 
almost always within reach of the flying spray from swift brooks. The collec- 
tions and notes of Mr. Gale indicate that in this locality their nesting dates 
vary from the first of May to the middle of June, the variation doubtless in part 
but not altogether due to differences in altitude. With nests made so snug and 
dry inside, why constantly sprayed moss on the outside should be essential 
to their happiness or welfare has not, so far as we are aware, been satisfactorily 
explained, but that it is a fact seems hardly to admit of a doubt. Mr. Stevenson, 
of the Hayden Survey of the western territories, reported that in one case where 
the nest was built beyond reach of spray the birds daily sprinkled it by flying 
swiftly from the water to the nest and shaking off the few drops remaining 
on their plumage. ° 

These birds seem to have no gregarious instincts. I have never seen more 
than three or four together and seldom more than two, and when more than 
a pair are seen it is usually a young brood soon after leaving the nest. Water 
beetles and the larve of caddisflies, dragonflies and other aquatic insects con- 
stitute a large part of their food, with fish spawn perhaps as a minor item in 
the bill-of-fare. The food is gleaned from the beds of the streams. Their dex- 
terity in the swiftest currents is almost unbelievable. The fisherman who has 
been almost swept from his feet by the torrent in which the bird makes its way 
with the utmost ease and speed, is filled with admiration. Though emphati- 
cally aquatic, they are not web-footed and do not usually make their way upon 

_the surface of the water after the manner of Ducks, but both walk and fly be- . 

neath the water, sometimes diving to great depths. In aérial flight they are 
rapid, and closely follow the meanders of the streams, seldom taking short 
cuts even when the bends are rather sharp. Their nests are not only interest- 
ing examples of bird architecture, but even more interesting in the method 
of their construction. 

Many accounts have been written concerning the habits of these birds by 
observant naturalists, but all has not yet been told. Mr. Denis Gale studied 


The American Dipper in Colorado 3 


the species for many years in the mountains of Colorado and left in his note- 
books several unpublished accounts which should not remain buried in manu- 
script. I have woven these accounts into one, in order to eliminate repetition, 
and present the facts in an orderly and logical way without changing the phrase- 
ology or doing violence to the meaning by wresting sentences from their proper 
connection, with the following result: 


FROM THE MANUSCRIPT OF DENIS GALE 


“Sites for nest—upon a rocky ledge over deep and lively water, behind a 
waterfall, under a bridge supported by crossbeams. Sometimes a rock in mid- 
stream is selected for a site. A pair of these birds have their nest behind Boulder 
Falls, in a kind of a ‘Cave of the Winds,’ having to fly in and out through a very 
wetting, dense spray. The same locality is chosen for nesting year after year 
unless some physical change renders it unfit. 

“However sly and shy this bird may be, if looking for its nest or in its neigh- 
borhood, when the bird is satisfied that you have discovered it, all shyness and 
slyness ends, for then a more confiding, fearless little fellow is not to be met 
with, going in and out of the nest when you have your hands upon it and with 
plaintive appeal both in speech (almost) and actions seeks to gain your sympathy 
and implores your forbearance. Robbed of her treasures, with the joint labor 
of her mate another nest is made, generally on the same site, and in three 
weeks she sits covering a second clutch of eggs, and that taken, a third will 
engage her cares. This fruitful industry no doubt is often exercised independ- 
ent of the interference of man, from the fact of the sudden rise of streams, when 
from their situations many nests must be swept away. I do not believe she 
raises two broods in one season. While most exercised and while watching 
as it is searching for food in the creek bed, it courtesies continually, and at each 
courtesy gives a little sharp /wit, keeping time to every fourth or fifth twit by 
a sudden working of the eyelid, causing the eye to sparkle brilliantly with the 
light. The nest is seldom betrayed by the bird itself, unless when the young 
are hatched. Then the journeys to and from the nest, with food, are easily noted. 
Previous to having hatched the young, the bird will drop from the opening in 
the nest like a stone into the fierce, rushing waters, and under the surface, allow- 
ing itself to be carried quite a distance before taking flight, its exit unperceived 
even when looking at the spot. Its aquatic feats are remarkable, going into and 
against the strongest current with perfect ease, and, like a fish, seeming not to 
touch the water, coming out of it perfectly dry, without a shake or flutter, to 
swim, sink or dive and even walk or run under water in search of the food it 
loves to hunt for. In all clear and unpolluted streams running from the melt- 
ing snowbanks near the mountain peaks it is equally proficient, nor in flight 
is it wanting in grace or power, darting down a stream with the rapidity of a 
flash and again flying from the water up to and about its nest-site, when in 
danger, with the ease and grace of a Hummingbird and noiselessly as an Owl. 


4 Bird- Lore 


This bird with its aquatic agility and other characteristics offers a subject for 
your notebook of much interest and instruction. Our little friend is no mean 
songster, either, in early spring. On sunshiny mornings in March and April, 
when the noisy creeks are less obtrusive, his beautiful, clear, liquid notes are 


DIPPER AT ENTRANCE TO NEST 
Photographed by J. Rowley, in Monterey county, California 


heard with rapture. Singularly sweet and enchanting is this early choral of the 
vernal year. 

“Below Jimtown, on the creek, about half a mile is a ledge of rock twenty 
feet high overhanging the creek. In a crevice of this ledge about three feet 
above the running water, a pair of these interesting little birds construct their 
nest year after year. On May 20 they have their complement of eggs, four 
or five in number, pure white, pointed at one end and blunt at the other—in this 
case like the eggs of the sandpiper. Other sets do not discover this peculiarity. 
The season for having their eggs differs also according to locality. The nest 
proper is enclosed in an outside covering not at all void of interest. Set upon 
a flat, even base, it is oven-shaped, a little longer than broad. The nests of this 


The American Dipper in Colorado 5 


bird differ in shape to suit the cavities in which they are placed, but the front 
is always oven-shaped. The one before me partakes of the shape of the crevice 
in which it was placed and measures exteriorily seven inches high, eight inches 
long and seven inches broad. The oustide covering is about one and one-fourth 
inches thick above the rim of the inside nest and about two inches thick below 
the rim and beneath the nest. This covering is composed chiefly of moss, with 
some decayed leaves and other rubbish, evidently taken from the water, with 
bark and grass fiber securing it together, and is always dense, dank and wet 
from the spray of the dashing water. The entrance is a small aperture, about 
one and one-half inches in diameter, placed about four inches from the bottom 
and cleverly hidden by the ragged material of the outer construction hanging 
over it. The direction of entrance by the bird is upward and its exit downward, 
as with the Cliff Swallow. The nest proper, concealed by the outer structure 
and about two inches from the outside edge thereof, is a beautiful structure, 
a perfect circle, saucer-shaped, about an inch and a half deep and three and 
one-half inches wide inside the cup. This is composed of a peculiar, non-absor- 
bent, coarse, wiry grass, lined with a few willow leaves, flat and intact, all per- 
fectly dry. All materials being used wet, after they are worked into position and 
molded by the bird’s body being twirled around, the nest proper remains a fixture. 
This nest-wall of grasses is about one inch thick. The nest inside in shape and 
material seems always to be the same. The material entering into the construc- 
tion of the covering is chosen to match the site it is intended to occupy. Moss 
is sometimes ignored, and decayed and other debris and rubbish substituted 
to keep the outside in harmony with its surroundings. The whole structure 
in place is scarcely distinguishable from the surroundings, all being of the same 
color and having the appearance of a bunch of debris placed there by high 
water—nothing new-looking about it. It is very compact and strong, so little 
damaged as a rule by a season’s occupation and the wear and tear of the winter’s 
storms that very little repair is needed for a second year’s occupancy. Decay 
of the materials after a time causes the dome to sink down, thereby rendering 
it inconvenient if not entirely useless. Then it is pulled down and a new one 
built on the same site. I have known of a pair of the birds, no doubt the same 
pair, building in the period of eight years several nests as occasion required 
in the same niche. 

“May 11, 1893. Both birds at work on the nest, probably five days’ work 
done. In shape like a horseshoe, open end back by an upright rock ledge. 

“May 19, 1893. Nest noted on the eleventh instant, in a period of two weeks 
very little done on it, not more than two fair days’ work as I saw the female 
working this morning for an hour while the sun was bright and warm. In every 
minute or two she brought material and incorporated it into the walls of the 
nest dome in the most ingenious manner, by forcing, with much exertion of 
her bill, the fresh wet material into the interstices in the already constructed 
and partially dry walls, from the inside, as a shoemaker uses his awl, picking 


6 Bird - Lore 


up any small portions from the bare floor that may have been broken or detached, 
and in the manner as described caulking it into any little space offering, work- 
ing from the bottom up, always below the top rim, upon which nothing is laid 
after the walls are raised to a level with the floor of the nest proper and the 
threshhold of the opening. The walls are then raised on all sides by forcing 
the building material into the wall from below in such a way as to act as a wedge. 
‘The mouthful of material is pushed awl-like into the wall, raising its upper 

edge, until its proper place is attained and it is released from the mandible. 
Then the ends and loose parts are tucked jn in like manner, not as a pellet, 


wae 


a 53 =A 
DIPPER’S NEST WITH YOUNG 
Photographed by H. W. Nash, at Sweetwater lake, Colo., July 20, 1807 


but rather suggesting a plug resembling a spider. The sprays and fibers on the 
outside are allowed to lie loose, plush-like, to lead the water from the dome roof 
as from a hay-cock. As this work on the walls dries the insertion of other plugs 
with their outrigging, so to speak, knits the whole densely. These insertions 
necessarily act forcibly on all sides, the limit of the little worker’s strength, 
fully sufficient for the work in hand, seeming to be used. I noticed that the part 
of the wall she was working upon was about three and one-third inches high, 
and while she was working in the material about one and one-half or two inches 
from the floor (which was on an incline of one and one-half inches in seven 


inches, the lowest part being in front and to one side, upon which side she was 


The American Dipper in Colorado 7 


working), after delivering home her quota of material she would take a turn 
at wedging in the bottom caulking where the material rested on the rock floor. 
Her object I understood to be two-fold, to fasten the foundation well to the rock 
and at the same time render that part below her insertions as compact and dense 
as possible, in order that her work should raise the upper part, which from its lesser 
density was more easily affected or sensible to the wedge. The top edge showed 
the slightest inclination to arch, which form is obtained by the deft manipu- 
lation of the builder. Thus by working from below the lips or edges of the walls 
from all sides are closed up and the keywedges put in at the last complete the 
outside covering. I noticed when caulking the nest to the rock while work- 
ing on the lower side the bird lay flat on the floor, spread her wings for a pur- 
chase and seemed to push with all her strength to insure a well-caulked seam. 
About the same period of time taken to gather the material was taken in its 
adjustment, with the oft-recurring heavy work at the bottom-seam caulking 
and a like period for a rest. About every third journey she scratched her cheek 
or her crown with her foot, sometimes on one side and then on the other, and 
as often rumpled her feathers, looked somewhat glumpy, possibly fatigued, 
and yet while appearing thus the constant courtesying was kept up, as often 
as not while resting on the nest-site, and just before the journey for fresh material 
she would raise her wings, probably to feel if they were clear of the material 
composing the upper part of the structure which might be easily disarranged. 
While observing her, once only did her mate put in an appearance, took a posi- 
tion close to the nest, gave two or three chirps and then a trill like an English 
Blackbird—a very agreeable musical performance which his mate scarcely 
seemed to appreciate, being occupied with her plans of construction. She snubbed 
an advance he was about to offer her and took a position near the nest on the 
rock ledge, while he fussed around the nest, seemed to do a little caulking and 
then flew away. It was evident to me that he was not wanted. It also occurred 
to me that this species is not the exception; that when the female takes upon 
herself the whole labor of construction she prefers to do so, that her plans may 
not be interfered with.”’ 


The Bird that Nests in the Snow 


By SIDNEY S. S. STANSELL, Edmonton, Alberta 


, \HE Canada Jay has almost as many local names as the Flicker. Those 
who do not know him by the name of Canada Jay, recognize him at 
once when you call him ‘Moose Bird,’ Cana Robber,’ ‘Whiskey John,’ 

‘Whiskey Jack,’ or ‘Lumber Jack.’ 

When you are traveling through the woods he is almost always your constant 
companion, and when you light a camp-fire or discharge a gun, he is always 


CANADA JAY 
Photographed by Sidney S. S. Stansell, April 8, 1907 


(8) 


The Bird that Nests in the Snow 9 


there, should he be within hearing or seeing distance, chirping contentedly 
and looking for what he may devour. 

I was traveling through the woods one day in early spring and fired a small 
rifle, the report of which was not very loud, but almost immediately a Jay came 
and lit on a small tree near by and chirped as though asking for his share of 
the game. I soon threw him a morsel and he immediately took it and flew away, 
probably to his nest to feed his mate—a fact which I know he does. 

A certain pair of Canada Jays lived all winter long in the immediate vicinity 
of two small cabins in a clearing. Whenever a crumb or scrap of meat was 
thrown from either door they would pounce down upon it and devour it at 
once, hide it in a cavity of some tree, or stow it snugly away between two branches 
to be eaten later when food became scarce. 

These birds became quite tame. I have had them come and take food from 
my hand; at other times they have entered the cabin through an open: window 
and helped themselves to food placed purposely on the table for them. 

About the first of March these birds began to show signs of wanting to nest 
although the mercury registered more than forty degrees below zero; never- 
theless, a nesting-site was chosen in a clump of ‘diamond’ willows within two 
hundred yards of one of the cabins, and house-building began. On March 31, 
one egg was deposited. I visited the nest daily afterwards until April 8, then 
as no other egg had been laid I proceeded to photograph the bird and her home. 
The snow around the nesting-site was about three feet deep and shows in the 
photograph. 

At first the bird seemed quite shy, and flew away several times while I was 
making preparations for the picture. Each time when she returned she would 
alight on the edge of the nest, look around for a second or two, then place her 
beak gently on the single egg, as if to make sure it had not been disturbed, all 
this time uttering a low not unmusical chirp; then quietly settle down on the 
nest. Once only did her mate return with her, then they both carefully examined 
the egg, after which they gently and lovingly rubbed their beaks together, then 
he flew away and she took her place on the nest again. 

The nest was situated eight feet from the ground, the lower portion was 
composed of twigs, the upper very closely woven with grasses, shredded bark 
and fine twigs. The cup-like interior was neatly and warmly lined with rabbit 
fur, hair and fine feathers. 

Warm this beautiful home is and warm it should be, for nesting as they 
do, in winter, it would take but a moment’s exposure of the very severe winters 
here to chill the tiny birds to death or freeze the unhatched eggs. 


Redpoll Linnets 


By LOTTIE ALVORD LACEY, Southport, Conn, 
Illustrated by the author 


(1906-7) after the first heavy snowstorm a lunch-table was provided for 

them. It consisted of a board eight feet long and eighteen inches wide, 
which was placed a rod or two from the house and spread with millet several 
times a day. This was done through February and March and we were repaid 
a hundred fold. 

At first the table was patronized almost exclusively by English Sparrows 
and Tree Sparrows, but others kept arriving daily until our guests numbered 
at least twenty-five English Sparrows, twelve or fifteen Tree Sparrows, three 
Song Sparrows and six Juncos. These came regularly, and one day early in March, 
eight aristocratic little strangers appeared. They resembled Chipping Sparrows, 
but were of an ashier hue with, upon the top of the head, a patch of crimson 
glistening like satin in the sunlight. They were immediately looked up and 
identified as Redpoll Linnets, and it was about these birds that all interest cen- 
tered from this time on. They made themselves at home from the first. 

As soon as the table was spread each day the numerous guests, who had 
been intently watching and eagerly chirping in the surrounding trees and shrub- 
bery, began to take their places. It was generally an English Sparrow that 
came first; then,‘the ice being broken’, there was a general advance from all 
sides. 

It was interesting to watch the different modes of approach. The English 
Sparrows hopped from limb to limb, coming nearer by degrees; the Tree Sparrows 
flew directly to the board; the Song Sparrows always alighted a rod or so away 
and crept along the ground to the table. But the Linnets were the most grace- 
ful; they dropped from their perch above and fluttered down in wavering circles 
precisely like falling leaves. They moved about the lunch-table with a quiet 
air of superiority, and the other birds instinctively gave place to them, with the 
exception of the Tree Sparrows, who were very impudent and _ belligerent 
at every meal. As the table filled there was more or less scurrying for choice 
positions, but the English Sparrows, to our surprise, were models of good breed- 
ing. If a Linnet approached a portion of millet appropriated by one of them 
the English Sparrow very rarely made any objection to sharing, and quite fre- 
quently moved away immediately, seeming to say, “Pardon me, I did not know 
that this was your place at table.” 

Outside one of the windows, close to the sill and on a level with it, there 
was a flower-box “three feet long and one and one-half feet wide. In this, also, 
millet was placed each day, and the Linnets found it the same afternoon that 
they discovered the lunch-table. We heard a great chattering at the window 
and going to it found five Redpolls conversing vigorously over their feast. As 


(10) 


I has been our custom for years to feed the winter birds. Last winter 


Redpoll Linnets II 


they were feeding they constantly moved about the box keeping up a pleasing 
“Cher, cher, cher, cher, Cher, cher, cher, cher,’”’ accenting the first syllable 
quite noticeably. 

As they seemed fearless, allowing us to come close to the window to watch 
them, it occurred to me that perhaps I could induce them to feed from my hand. 
Accordingly the next morning, wrapping up well and putting on a glove, I 
seated myself by the open mindow holding a handful of millet on the sill close 
by the box. Nearly an hour passed before the Linnets ventured down. They. 
had been moving about a nearby tree closely watching me and presently a ven- 
turesome one alighted in the 
box. Soon five others came, 
one of which hopped into my 
hand and ate a hearty meal. 
I felt fully repaid for the long 
time spent in waiting. 

The next day, about noon, 
I took my place at the open’ | » 
window ae with cae in § toa if. 
the box on the window-sill, 
in my lap and a _ generous 
supply in my hand (gloveless 
this time). In a few seconds 
the Linnets were flying all 
about me seeming now to have 
perfect confidence. One came 
almost immediately into my 
hand and held possession, 
allowing no one else to come 
there, but another little fellow ong REDPOLL IN THE HAND AND NINE IN 
crept along the window-sill THE BOX BELOW 
and reaching up helped himself when the first one was not looking. A third 
one after eating a while on the window-sill hopped into my lap and _ had his 
lunch there while fourteen others made a charming sight feeding happily in 
the box under my hand. They kept up the pretty little conversational “Cher, 
cher, cher, cher” constantly while feeding, the first syllable being accented 
vigorously and sharply if one felt that another was trespassing on his claim. 

After this they came several times every day and when a handful of seed 
was presented they flew into the hand without hesitation and had pitched battles 
for the privilege of eating there, seeming to appreciate the warm perch and 
unlimited supply of food. Two flew into the room and as they were fluttering 
about some plants at a closed window I caught them and brought them to the 
open window. One was badly frightened but the other seemed to have little 
fear and did not make haste to leave my hand. 


0 ty = 5%, ad me Fe 
et 


a 
} ¢ oC ae 


12 Bird - Lore 


One morning I heard an unfamiliar song and discovered a flock of Linnets 
on an arborvite near the porch singing a delightful little song something like 
this: 

“Sweet, sweet, sweet, 
Such a dee-ahr, such a dear, 
Sweet, sweet.” 


The tone was shrill and sweet quite like that of the Yellow Warbler. Their 
call note was a questioning “‘Suee-’eet.”’ 


REDPOLLS WAITING FOR LUNCHEON 
From a painting by_L. A. Lacey 


One day when they were feeding in and about my hand, a sudden noise 
startled the flock and all flew off excepting the one in my hand. He stayed, 
eating with perfect content as though he knew he was protected. The others 
soon came fluttering back seeing nothing to fear. Alarms were very frequently 
given during the days they were with us but the bird standing in my hand almost 
invariably stayed while all the others flew to the surrounding trees to reconnoiter. 

The flock steadily increased. They evidently had some method of communi- 
cating with other scattered flocks, passing the news along concerning the abund- 
ance of food they had found. About a week after the arrival of the first eight 
there was a snowfall of several inches, and the following morning we counted 
thirty-five of them. As they were very hungry and the out-of-doors lunch-table 
was uncomfortably crowded, we spread millet over a table in the room (to the 
window of which they were accustomed to come) and they literally crowded 
in, showing no fear although two of us were standing within four or five feet 


Redpoll Linnets 13 


of the table. There were twenty-seven Linnets and a number of ‘Tree Sparrows 
feeding at one time. It was a fascinating sight. 

Later in the day I took my seat by the window, after having spread millet 
on the table and in the box. In a few moments the Linnets appeared and soon 
there were three eating from my hand while the table six inches from me was 
swarming with them; twenty-seven at least being there at one time. While one 
was eating in my hand I slowly raised my thumb to encircle him and when 
it was so high that he could not bite the one who was trying to seize a seed occa- 
sionally from the other side of my hand he hopped up on my thumb and down 
the other side to nip the poacher, then back again to his first position. This 
was done repeatedly but, finding he was losing time that way he took up a posi- 
tion midway, one foot on my palm and the other stretched up on my thumb 
so that he could eat on one side and bite the intruder on the other, without the 
wear and tear of jumping over and back. 

Three of these birds had rosy breasts, the color seeming to deepen as the 
warmer weather came on until two of them had breasts as crimson as their 
crowns, and these were the only ones, with one exception, that had rosy rumps. 

They stayed with us several weeks, the flock diminishing as the snow disap- 
peared and the weather grew warmer and on March 25, four of them, three 
with rose-tinted breasts, made their parting call. We fully expect to see them 
again during the coming winter, for their wings are long and strong and what 
do a few hundred miles longer flight signify to tiem when there is a certainty 
of abundance of food at the end of the journey ? 


YOUNG KINGFISHERS 
Photographed by James H. Miller, Lowville, N. Y. 


A Bird Friend 


By FRANK M. CHAPMAN 


E doubtless all have our fay- 
orites among the birds, and 
in most cases, it would prob- 
ably be found that our especial fondness 
for a particular species has resulted from 
some response on its part to our advances. 
The Chickadee has won a place for itself 
in the heart of every one who knows it, 
not through its charm of song or beauty 
of dress, but through the quaint little 
personality its familiarity has permitted 
us to have a glimpse of. The bird actu- 
ally seems to notice us; we are some- 
thing more than objects to be afraid of, 
and a glance from its shining, intelligent 
eye suggests possibilities of companion- 
ship which we grasp at eagerly. The 
death of a bird with which we have estab- 
lished delightful relations of this kind 
passes the bounds of abstract bird de- 
struction and becomes a murder which 
we would gladly avenge. 
So I feel, at least, toward the murder- 
ers, unfortunately unknown, of the Barred 


A BARRED OWL PORTRAIT 


From a drawing by Robert Sims 


Owls, which, as long as I can remember, have inhabited a certain woods near my 
home. Rarely did they fail to answer my call, and even when there was no response 
I felt assured of their presence, and found pleasure in the mere knowledge of it. 

If there had been any real reason for killing them, any crime justifying their 
death warrant, I should feel their loss less keenly, but they were shot as a test 
of markmanship and as wantonly, perhaps even more wantonly, than if I were 
to shoot at the automobilists whirring by, simply to see if I could hit them. 

There is a certain rarely uttered scream of the Barred Owl which raises 
the hair and stops the heart-beat for a moment of those who, even with a clear 
conscience, hear it, and if from time to time it could echo in the dreams of, the 
murderer of my Barred Owls, I should feel that in a small measure, at least, 
he was reaping as he had sowed. 

An appeal to sentiment alone will doubtless not win for other Barred Owls 
that right to live which is the privilege of all law-abiding citizens, but that such 
a privilege is their due may be gathered from the appended photographic state- 
ment of their value to mankind. 


(14) 


F oy & 
Casts or pellets disgorged by the Barred Owl. The skulls and other bones of meadow mice may 
be plainly seen. A coin has been introduced into the picture to show comparative size 


6) 


‘a, be sy ROSAS . 


View beneath a tree frequented by a Barred Owl. Showing disgorged casts which contained 
only the remains of mice 


THE FOOD OF THE BARRED OWL 
Two photographs made by H M. Stephens, at Carlisle Pa 


(15) 


The Migration of Flycatchers 
SECOND: PAPER 


Compiled by Professor W. W. Cooke, Chiefly from Data 
in the Biological Survey 
With drawings by Louis AcGaAssiz FUERTES and BrucrE HorsFALi 


COUCH’S KINGBIRD 


This is a species of wide distribution in Mexico, but it ranges north in summer 
barely to the United States, near the mouth of the Rio Grande in southern 
Texas. It was first seen May 8, 1877 and April 30, 1878; the earliest records 
for eggs are May 20, 1891, May 16, 1893 and May 173, 1894. 


ARKANSAS FLYCATCHER 


This is the commonest and best known of the large Flycatchers of the West. 
It deserts the United States in winter and is found at that season in Mexico and 


Guatemala. 
SPRING MIGRATION 


| No. of years’ | Average date of | Earliest date of 


PLACE record spring arrival spring arrival 
Re ntavilllc eh exes mremen mie oe ae nate 6 April 28 April 24, 1905 
Rockport, (Tex sete he sara easel ae April 18, 1893 
GentralOkKeansass ey ea eee yan a 3 May 2 April 24, 1906 
Central Nebraska. . STOR te iatedrate | II May 5 April 23, 1896 
Northern North Dakota. .... . 5 May 16 May 12, 1906 
Old pWhvesi Creeks Sask ee wea May 26, 1895 
Hon Webster, New Micxa a). 5. asns ate March 25, 1853 
Carlisle miNiews Vics) Sarnia wiser een April 8, 1890 
Oracea, Ariz. sit Ren qian Pareto tiers February 25, 1899 
Catalina NVitss WAG ze) vache erecanee March 28, 1885 
Yuma, Colo. I phic a ore 3 May 2 April 30, 1905 
Ghey.cunewWayom ms a eta ee aah eee ecs 2 May 12 May 10, 1889 
Rathdrum, Idaho cd Nie 2 May 10 May 8, 1905 
Demy, Monee sty eee 8 May 17 May 8, 1894 
Souiineria CalnioOrnia . 5 5 5 6 5 o 8 4 March 18 March 17, 1896 
Gentrall@altionnta swe 4 meee eee 5 March 23 March 16, 1901 
Southern British Columbia. . 4 April 25 April 22, 1906 


The Arkansas Kingbird retires early toward its winter home. Some dates 
of the last seen are: Okanagon, B. C., August 31, 1905; Chilliwack, B. C., Sep- 
tember 2, 1889; Cashmere, Wash., September 22, t904; Yuma, Colo., September 
23, 1904; Lawrence, Kans., October 4, 1906. 


CASSIN’S KINGBIRD 


This species winters principally in Mexico, but a few go as far south as 
Guatemala and a still smaller number remain in southern California. 

The usual time of migration is indicated by the following dates of the earliest 
seen: Tucson, Ariz., March 24, 1902; Catalina mountains, Ariz., March 28, 
1885; Pueblo, Colo., April 29, 1894; Cheyenne, Wyo., May 9g, 1889; Grange- 


(16) 


Annual Congress of the American Ornithologists’ Union 17 


ville, Idaho, April 28, 1887; Paicines, Calif., March 7, 1899, March 15, 1901. 
In the fall the last birds were seen at Beulah, Colo., September 5, 1905, and 
in the Catalina Mountains, Ariz., October 9, 1884. 


The Twenty-fifth Annual Congress of the American 
Ornithologists’ Union 


, NHANKS to the efforts of the local Committee, the Twenty-fifth Annual 
Congress of the American Ornithologists’ Union (Philadelphia, December 
to-12) will be remembered by those who were fortunate enough to 

attend it as one of the most successful and enjoyable in the history of the Union. 

The plan of having but one hotel as headquarters, the annual dinner, the 
‘Smoker’ and the daily luncheons at the Academy all offered those opportunities 
for social intercourse which are so important a part of gatherings of this kind, 
while the program contained papers of much interest. 

Charles F. Batchelder, President; E. W. Nelson and Frank M. Chapman, 
Vice-Presidents; John H. Sage, Secretary; J. Dwight, Jr., Treasurer were 
all re-elected. Richard C. McGregor, Manila, Philippine islands was elected 
a Fellow; Dr. Carl H. Hennicke of Germany and Dr. Sergius A. Buturlin, of 
Russia were elected Corresponding Fellows; Ned Dearborn, Chicago, E. Howard 
Eaton, Rochester, N. Y., W. L. Finley, Portland, Oregon and O. W. Knight, 
Bangor, Me., were elected Members. One hundred and twenty-three Associates 
were elected, some forty more than were elected last year, an indication of the 
growing interest in bird study. 

The next Congress of the Union will be held in Cambridge, Mass., November 
T7107 1008. 


e+ ge Sf eae Sf 


CLARKE’S NUTCRACKER 
Photographed by Evan Lewis, at Idaho Springs, Colo. 


Bird-Lore’s Advisory Council 


ITH some slight alterations and additions, we reprint below the 
\ \) names and addresses of the ornithologists forming BrrD-LORE’s 
‘Advisory Council,’ which were first published in Birp-Lore for 

February, 1900. 

To those of our readers who are not familiar with the objects of the Council, 
we may state that it was formed for the purpose of placing students in direct 
communication with an authority on the bird-life of the region in which they 
live, to whom they might appeal for information and advice in the many diffi- 
culties which beset the isolated worker. 

The success of the plan during the seven years that it has been in operation 
fully equals our expectations; and from both students and members of the Council 
we have had very gratifying assurances of the happy results attending our efforts 
to bring the specialist in touch with those who appreciate the opportunity to 
avail themselves of his wider experience. 

It is requested that all letters of inquiry sent to members of the Council 
be accompanied by a stamped and addressed envelope for use in replying. 


NAMES AND ADDRESSES OF MEMBERS OF THE ADVISORY COUNCIL 
UNITED STATES AND TERRITORIES 


ALASKA.—Dr. C. Hart Merriam, Biological Survey, Dept. of Agr., Washington, D. C. 
ARIzZONA.—Herbert Brown, Tucson, Ariz. 

CALIFORNIA.—Charles A. Keeler, Cal. Acad. Sciences, San Francisco, Cal. 
CALIFORNIA.—Walter K. Fisher, Palo Alto, Cal. 

CoLorapo.—Dr. W. H. Bergtold, 1460 Clayton Ave., Denver, Col. 
CONNEcTICUT.—J. H. Sage, Portland, Conn. 

DELAWARE.—C. J. Pennock, Kennett Square, Pa. 

District oF CoLumMBIA.—Dr. C. W. Richmond, U. S. Nat’! Mus., Washington, D. C. 
FLORIDA.—Frank M. Chapman, American Museum Natural History, New York City. 
FLORIDA, Western.—R. W. Williams, Jr., Tallahassee, Fla. 

GEoRGIA.—Dr. Eugene Murphy, Augusta, Ga. 

Ixirno1s, Northern.—B. T. Gault, Glen Ellyn, Il. 

ILLINOIS, Southern.—Robert Ridgway, U. S. National Museum, Washington, D. C. 
InpDIANA.—A. W. Butler, State House, Indianapolis, Ind. 

INDIAN TERRITORY.—Prof. W. W. Cooke, Biological Suey, Dept. of Agr., Wash- 
Iowa.—C. R. Keyes, Mt. Vernon, Ia. {fington, D. C. 
Kansas.—Prof. F. H. Snow, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kan. 
Lovuis1Ana.—Prof. George E. Beyer, Tulane University, New Orleans, La. 
Maine.—O. W. Knight, Bangor, Me. 

MASSACHUSETTS.—William Brewster, Cambridge, Mass. 

MicHican.—Prof. W. B. Barrows, Agricultural College, Mich. 

MINNESOTA.—Dr. T. S. Roberts, 1603 Fourth Avenue South, Minneapolis, Minn. 
Mississipp1.—Andrew Allison, Ellisville, Miss. 

Missouri.—O. Widmann, 5105 Morgan St., St. Louis, Mo. 

Monrtana.—Prof. J. M. Elrod, University of Montana, Missoula, Mont. 
NEBRASKA.—Prof. E. H. Barbour, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, Neb. 


(18) 


Bird- Lore’s Advisory Council 19 


NeEvapa.—Dr. A. K. Fisher, Biological Survey, Dept. of Agr., Washington, D. C. 
New HampsHirE.—Dr. G. M. Allen, Boston Soc. Nat. Hist., Boston. 

NEw Jersey, Northern.—Frank M. Chapman, Am. Mus. Nat. History, New York City. 
NEw JERSEY, Southern.—Witmer Stone, Academy Natural Science, Philadelphia, Pa. 
New Mexico.—Dr. A. K. Fisher, Biological Survey, Dept. of Agr., Washington, D. C. 
New York, Eastern.—Dr. A. K. Fisher, Biological Survey, Dept. of Agr., Washington, 
New York, Northern.—Egbert Bagg, 191 Genesee Street, Utica, N. Y. (DE C. 
NEw York, Western.—E. H. Eaton, Canandaigua, N. Y. 

New York, Long Island.—William Dutcher, 141 Broadway, New York City. 

NortH Daxota.—Prof. O. G. Libby, University, N. D. 

NortH CAroLina.—Prof. T. G. Pearson, Greensboro, N. C. 

Oxuto.—Prof. Lynds Jones, Oberlin College, Oberlin, Ohio. 

OKLAHOMA.—Dr. A. K. Fisher, Biological Survey, Dept. of Agr., Washington, D. C. 
OrEGON.—A. W. Anthony, 7614 Savier St., Portland, Ore. 

PENNSYLVANIA, Eastern.—Witmer Stone, Acad. Nat. Science, Philadelphia, Pa. 
PENNSYLVANIA, Western.—W. Clyde Todd, Carnegie Museum, Pittsburg, Pa. 

RHODE IsLtanp.—C. Abbott Davis, Museum Natural History, Roger Williams Park, 
SoutH CaroLina.—Dr. Eugene Murphy, Augusta, Ga. [Providence, R. I. 
TExas.—H. P. Attwater, Houston, Tex. 

Utau.—Prof. Marcus E. Jones, Salt Lake City, Utah. 

VERMONT.—Prof. G. H. Perkins, Burlington, Vt. 

Vircinia.—Dr. W. C. Rives, 1723 I Street, Washington, D. C. 
WASHINGTON.—Samuel F. Rathburn, Seattle; Wash. 

WEstT VirGINIA.—Dr. W. C. Rives, 1723 I Street, Washington, D. C. 
Wisconsin.—H. L. Ward, Public Museum, Milwaukee, Wis. 


CANADA 


ALBERTA.—G. F. Dippie, Calgary, Alta. 

BRITISH CoLuMBIA, Western.—Francis Kermode, Provincial Museum, Victoria, Bs: 
British CoLtumBtiA, Eastern.—Allan Brooks, Okanagan Landing, B. C. 
Manirosa.—Ernest Thompson Seton, Cos Cob, Conn. 

NEw Brunswick.—Montague Chamberlain, 45 Milk Street, Boston, Mass. 

Nova Scotia.—Harry Piers, Provincial Museum, Halifax, N. S. 

Ontario, Eastern.—James H. Fleming, 267 Rusholme Road, Toronto, Ont. 
ONTARIO, Western.—E. W. Saunders, London, Ont. 

QuEBEC.—E. D. Wintle, 189 St. James Street, Montreal, Can. 


MEXICO 


E. W. Nelson, Biological Survey, Department of Agriculture, Washington, D. C. 


WEST INDIES 
C. B. Cory, Field Museum, Chicago, II. 


GREAT BRITAIN 
Clinton G. Abbott, 153 West 73d St., New York City, N. Y. 


e 


From a Westerner’s Standpoint 


HE Editor of Brrp-LoreE is quite right in saying that the American 
Ae Ornithologists’ Union Committee has in the past shown excellent judg- 

ment in the selection of English names for our birds. Such changes 
as appear desirable have become so through a slightly altered point of view, 
or through greater familiarity with the birds themselves, rather than any dis- 
crediting of previous decisions. 

We of the West find ourselves handicapped in a measure by the constant 
recurrence of the adjective Western, but so long as we are in the minority we 
must make the best of it; and precisely because the vernacular names are more 
stable than the scientific, we recognize the necessity of making them geographi- 
cally definitive. All we ask is that they shall be accurate in this regard. In 
general there should be a freer use of the word ‘Pacific’ in designating species 
common to the three sister states, California, Oregon and Washington, unless 
it can be clearly shown, as in the case of the California Cuckoo, that the bird 
has its center of abundance in one of them, The ‘Oregon’ Vesper Sparrow ~ 
(Poecetes gramineus affinis) is just as truly a Washington bird. Moreover, 
the Western Vesper Sparrow (P. g. conjinis) probably outnumbers afinis two 
to one in Oregon. Would it not be better, therefore, to call ajfinis the Pacific 
Vesper Sparrow ? 

We stand in need of an accepted faunal name to designate that homogeneous 
area which includes eastern Oregon and Washington, Idaho west of the Rockies, 
and southern British Columbia. Commercially we refer to this region as the 
‘inland empire’; and there has been talk of a political coalition under the name 
Lincoln or Lincolnia, but for geographico-zodlogical purposes the word Colum- 
bian is perhaps the most suitable. It has been applied successfully in the case 
of the Columbian Sharp-tailed Grouse. It should be extended to such birds © 
as the ‘San Diego’ Redwing (Agelaius pheniceus neutralis) and the ‘Dusky’ 
Horned Lark (Otocoris alpestris merrilli). The name Columbian is also more 
consistently applicable to the western ‘colony’ of Parus atricapillus than to 
Parus hudsonicus columbianus, as at present. 

Of course all distinctive geographical names must tend to fall away in local 
use. The Western Robin is simply the Robin to us in Washington; the Puget 
Sound Bush-Tit is the Bush-Tit, etc. We ought perhaps, to give this abbreviat- 
ing tendency a little larger recognition in our check-list. Or, if we do ‘consider 
it necessary to repeat the word American some thirty-three times in the text, 
for the sake of distinctness, we should feel free to dispense with it in common 
use, as in the columns of Brrp-LorE; and we ought not to allow ourselves to 
be cheated out of the use of such fitting titles as Widgeon or Peregrine Falcon 
in the mere effort to be different. ‘Baldpate’ is simply a book name for the 
Widgeon, in the West, at least; while ‘Duck Hawk’ degrades our noblest Falcon. 

Personally, I think the custom of naming our Warblers after their favorite 


(20) 


From a Westerner’s Standpoint 21 


trees a very pretty one, and I should dislike to see changes made, save for the 
gravest reasons. 

As the most impossible name (either to accept or alter) I submit the ‘Louis- 
iana Water Thrush.’ It is inconsistent and misleading, but what are we going 
to do about it? Here are a few attempts: Glade-sprite, Glade-thrush, Glade- 
water-thrush, Glade Accentor, Dingle-thrush, Dingle-warbler, Dingle-witch, 
Cock-o-the-run, Water-fay, Dell Nixie, Alleghany Water-thrush. 

A few specific suggestions follow: Change 

‘Northwest Coast’ to Fannin’s Heron. 

‘Partridge’ to Quail in genus Oreortyx and Lophortyx. 

‘Duck Hawk’ to American Peregrine Falcon. 

‘California’ to Pacific Pygmy Owl. 

‘Northern Red-breasted’ to Northwest Sapsucker. 

‘Arkansas’ to Western Kingbird. 

‘Green-crested’ to Acadian Flycatcher. (Acadian, like Arcadian, through 
poetical use, no longer recalls a place but a condition; and its use cannot 
possibly be misleading.) 

‘Streaked’ to Pacific Horned Lark. 

‘Dusky’ to Columbian Horned Lark. 

‘American’ to Mexican Raven. 

‘San Diego’ to Columbian Redwing. 

‘California’ to Pacific Purple Finch. 

‘Oregon’ to Pacific Vesper Sparrow. 

‘Louisiana’ to Crimson-headed Tanager. 

‘Macgillivray’s to Tolmie’s Warbler. 

‘Long-tailed’ to Western Chat. 

‘American Dipper’ to American Water Ousel. 

‘California’ to Sierra Creeper. 


Seattle, Dec. 28, 1907. W. Leon Dawson 


The Eighth Christmas Bird Census 


are, and one might think that as the weather of Christmas week was 

exceptionally favorable for birds and for the recording of them, the 
returns for Brrp-Lore’s Eighth Census would be of exceptional interest. It 
is true, a greater number of observers were heard from than on any previous 
occasion, but from most quarters comes the report ‘‘very few birds this winter.” 
Such true northern birds as Crossbills, Redpolls, Pine Grosbeaks and the Shrike 
are almost wholly absent, while the commoner winter birds are said to be present 
in smaller numbers than usual. 

The Censuses, however, are made to record the results obtained and one 
containing a small number of birds or none at all, is just as important as the 
one with forty or more species, provided that it truly represents existing condi- 
tions. It is data of the kind we are accumulating which will permit us to say 
with some definiteness just how abundant or scarce winter birds are, for com- 
parative statements of this kind are of value only when they are based on 
actual records. > 

We regret to say that a number of Censuses were received too late for inser- 
tion, while the demands the Census makes on Brrp-Lore’s space has prevented 


Be: students are not easily influenced by weather conditions, but birds 


MAP SHOWING NUMBER AND DISTRIBUTION OF CHRISTMAS 
BIRD CENSUSES 


(22) 


Eighth Christmas Bird Census 23 


us from accepting more than one Census by the same person from the same 
locality. 


Ottawa, Ontario.—Dec. 27; 1 to 4.30 P.M. Cloudy and damp; foot of snow on 
ground; wind south, light; temp., 40°. Downy Woodpecker, 1; Crow, 1; Blue Jay, 2; 
White-breasted Nuthatch, 3; Chickadee, 6. Total, 5 species, 13 individuals. Snow- 
flakes and a Meadowlark were seen a few days ago.—G. E. HARTWICK. 

Reaboro, Ontario.—Dec. 26; 2 to 4 p.m. About thirteen inches of snow; temp., 
about 30°; wind west, light. Ruffed Grouse, 2; Hairy Woodpecker, 2; White-breasted 
Nuthatch, 1; Chickadee, 4. Total, 4 species, 9 individuals. A Screech Owl was seen 
on Christmas. The Downy Woodpecker, Blue Jay and Snowflake are all here this 
winter.—E. WELLINGTON CALVERT. 

Orangeville, Ontario.—Dec. 19; 7.50 A.M. to 5.05 P.M. Snowing most of day; about 
fifteen inches of snow; wind west, very strong; temp., 22°. American Goshawk, 1; 
Downy Woodpecker, 5; Brown Creeper, 1; White-breasted Nuthatch, 4; Chickadee, 
18; Golden-crowned Kinglet, 2; Total, 6 species, 31 individuals.—ALvIN J. ScoTT 
and E. W. CALVERT. 

Millbrook, Ontario.—Dec. 25; 9 A.M. to 1.30 P.M. Snowing, a foot of snow on ground; 
wind south; temp., 30°. Ruffed Grouse, 2; Blue Jays, 5; Chickadees, 16; White-bellied 
Nuthatch, 2. Total, 4 species, 25 individuals.—SAam. HUNTER. 

Wilton, N. H.—Dec. 25; 9 to 11 A.M. and 2.30 to 4.30 P.M. Fair in A.M.; cloudy 
in P.M.; snow four inches with crust; light, southeast wind; temp., 38° to 40°. Downy 
Woodpecker, 1; Blue Jay, 5; Tree Sparrow, 3; White-breasted Nuthatch, 3; Red- 
breasted Nuthatch, 2; Chickadee, 15. Total, 6 species, 29 individuals. A very decided 

-scarcity of all kinds of birds has been noticed in this vicinity since last summer.— 
James A. WinG and GrEorGE G. BLANCHARD. 

Cornish, N. H.—Dec. 25; 9 to 11.25 A.M.; 3.40 to 4.45 P.M. Sunshine in A.M.; 
ground covered with several inches of snow; light breeze; temp., 34°. Hairy Wood- 
pecker, 2; Downy Woodpecker, 1; Chickadee, 24; White-breasted Nuthatch, 5. Total, 
4 species, 32 individuals.—ETHEL R. BARTON. 

Fitchburg, Mass.—Dec. 28; 10.30 A.M. to 1.30 P.M. Clear, four to six inches ice 
and snow; occasional bare ground; wind west, light; temp., 34°. Ruffed Grouse, 1; 
Golden-crested Kinglet, 8; Chickadee, 20. Total, 3 species, 29 individuals.—ALVIN 
G. WHITNEY, F. N. Ditton and G. F. HABBARD. 

Swampscott Shore and Marblehead Neck, Mass.—Dec. 26; 9 A.M. to 3 P.M. Fair; 
wind west, fresh; ground bare; temp., 41° to 45°. Holboell’s Grebe, 3; Horned Grebe, 
tr; Loon, 4; Red-throated Loon, 1; Black Guillemot, 4; Great Black-backed Gull, 1; 
Herring Gull, 44; Red-breasted Merganser, 25; American Golden-eye, 43; Bufflehead, 
1; Old Squaw, 17; White-winged Scoter, 1; Surf Scoter, 5; Northern Flicker, 7; Amer- 
ican Crow, 2; Snowflake, 2; Tree Sparrow, 1; Myrtle Warbler, 1; Chickadee, 11. Total, 
Ig species, 184 individuals. —Gorpon B. WELLMAN and Horace W. WRIGHT. 

Ipswich, Mass.—Dec. 25; 11 A.M. to 12 M. Clear, ground bare; temp., 50°. Her- 
ring Gull, 80; Crow, 16; Sparrow, 3; Flicker, 1. Total, 4 species, 100 individuals.— 
JessE H. WADE and Francis C. WADE. 

Ipswich, Mass.—Castle Hill to Big Dune, return through the Dunes. Dec. 21; 
10.30 A.M. to 2.30 P.M. Clear; snow on ground, heavy in Dunes; wind west, light; 
temp., 40°. Loon, 2; Kittiwake, 45; Great Black-backed Gull, 4; Herring Gull, 86; 
Red-breasted Merganser, 400; American Golden-eye, 77; Surf Scoter, 8; Horned 
Lark, 19; Crow, 154; Snowflake, 105; Lapland Longspur, 2; Ipswich Sparrow, 1; 
Tree Sparrow, 65; Junco, 1; Myrtle Warbler, 33; Chickadee, 20. Total, 16 species, 
1,022 individuals.—EDMUND and LipIAN E. BRIDGE. 

Nahant, Mass.—Dec. 26; 11.30 A.M. to 2 P.M. Clear; ground bare; wind west, 


24 Bird - Lore 


light; temp., 42°. Loon, 1; Herring Gull, 200; Leach Petrel, 1 (dead on beach); Buffle- 
head, 14; Old Squaw, 20; White-winged Scoter, 6; Horned Lark, 18; Crow, 3. Total, 
8 species, 263 individuals.—ELIZABETH D. BOARDMAN and LIDIAN E. BRIDGE. 

Nahant, Mass., Eastern Point to Lynn.—Dec. 20; 9.30 A.M. to 12.30 P.M. Clear; 
snow on ground; wind west, light; temp., 22°. Brunnich’s Murre, 1; Great Black- 
backed Gull, 3; Herring Gull, 250; Red-breasted Merganser, 4; Scaup Duck, 6; Amer- 
ican Golden-eye, 30; Bufilehead, 16; Old Squaw, 22; White-winged Scoter, 1; Sparrow 
Hawk, 1; Downy Woodpecker, 1; Horned Lark, 13; Crow, 20; Song Sparrow, 2; 
Chickadee, 2. Total, 15 species, 372 individuals.—LipDIAN E. BRIDGE. 

West Medford, Mass., through Middlesex Fells to Wyoming.—Dec. 22; 8.30 A.M. 
to 11.30 A.M. Clear; snow on ground; wind west, light; temp., 32°. Herring Gull, 1; 
American Merganser, 10; Mallard, 1; Red-legged Black Duck, 200; Pintail, 1; Crow, 
8; Blue Jay, 1; Pine Siskin, 2; Tree Sparrow, 4; Brown Creeper, 7; White-breasted 
Nuthatch, 1; Chickadee, 4. Total, 12 species, 240 individuals. (December 25, in the 
same field, Northern Shrike, 1; Mockingbird, 1.—EpMUND and LipIAn E. BRIDGE. 

Squantum, Mass.—Dec. 25; 12 M. to 2 P.M. Clear; ground bare; west wind, strong; 
temp., 34°. Herring Gull, 100; American Merganser, 15; Scaup Duck, 30; American 
Golden-eye, 5; Downy Woodpecker, 3; Flicker, 1; Crow, 50; Goldfinch, 5; Red-breasted 
Nuthatch, 1; Chickadee, 12. Total, 10 species, 222 individuals. BARRON BRAINERD. 

Brookline, Fenway, Mass.—Dec. 27; 12 M. to 12.30 P.M. Clear; ground bare; 
west wind, light; temp., 40°. Herring Gull, 3; Sparrow Hawk, 1; Flicker, 1; Crow, 8; 
Goldfinch, 1; Chickadee, 6; Golden-crowned Kinglet, 3. Total, 7 species, 23 indiyi- 
duals.—BARRON BRAINERD. 

Franklin Park, Arnold Arboretum, Boston Parkway and Charles River.—Dec. 21; 
9.30 A.M. to 1 P.M. Clear; four inches of snow on ground; temp., 38°. Herring Gull, 
125; Red-legged Black Duck, 15; American Golden-eye, 20; American Coot, 5; Sparrow 
Hawk, 1; Northern Flicker, 10; Blue Jay, 4; Crow, 7; American Goldfinch, 2; White- 
throated Sparrow, 2; Trees Sparrow, 1; Song Sparrow, 2; Brown Creeper, 2; White- 
breasted Nuthatch 2; Golden-crowned Kinglet, 7; Chickadee, 19. Total, 16 species, 
224 individuals.—JAmMES L. PETERS. 

Franklin Park, Morton Meadows (8 to 9.15 A.m.); Arnold Arboretum, Allandale 
Woods, Jamaica Pond.—Dec 22; 9.45 A.M. to 1.20 P.M. Four inches of snow; wind 
southwest, light; temp., 40°. Red-legged Black Duck, 37; American Coot; 2; Bob-white, 
8; Ring-necked Pheasant, 4; Sharp-shinned Hawk, 1; Northern Flicker, 10; Blue Jay, 
9; Crow, 20; Bronzed Grackle, 1; American Goldfinch, 7; Tree Sparrow, 6; Junco, 
2; Song Sparrow, 3; Brown Creeper, 1; Golden-crowned Kinglet, 10; Chickadee, 14. 
Total, 16 species, 133 individuals.—JAmMEsS L. PETERS. 

Marblehead, Swampscott, Nahant, Mass.—Dec. 24; 9.30 A.M. to 4.15 P.M. Clear; 
ground bare; wind light, temp., 45°. Holboell’s Grebe, 1; Horned Grebe, 2; Loon, 1; 
Black Guillemot, 3; Black-backed Gull, 3; Herring Gull, 400; ‘Red-breasted Mer- 
gamser, 1; Greater Scaup, 15; American Golden-eye, 10; Bufflehead, 31; Old Squaw, 
16; White-winged Scoter, 14; Northern Flicker, 1; Horned Lark, 14; Crow, 1; Song 
Sparrow, 3; Golden-crowned Kinglet, 3; Chickadee, 8; Robin, 1; Total, 19 species, 
522 individuals.—NorFroLtk BirD CLUB. 

Squantum, (9.45 A.M. to 12 m.); Middlesex Fells.—Dec. 26; 2 to 4.30 p.m. Clear; 
ground bare; patches of snow in woods; wind northwest, light; temp., 40°. Herring 
Gull, 278; American Merganser, 61; Red-breasted Merganser, 13; Red-legged Black 
Duck, 71; Greater Scaup, 50; American Golden-eye, 1; Old Squaw, 33; White-winged 
Scoter, 1; ‘Pigeon’ Hawk, 1; Crow 59; Song Sparrow, 1; Brown Creeper, 2. Total, 
I2 species, 571 individuals.—JAmeEs L. PETERS, R. M. MARBLE and J. T. CooLinGE, 3rd. 

Charles River, Boston Fens, Jamaica Pond, Mass.—Dec. 22; clear; wind west; four 
inches snow; temp., 40°. Black-backed Gull, 1; Herring Gull, 450; Red-legged Black 


Eighth Christmas Bird Census 25 


- Duck, 68; American Golden-eye, 38; American Coot, 2; Red-tailed Hawk, 1; Flicker, 
3; Blue Jay, 4; Crow, 9; Goldfinch, 1; Song Sparrow, 4; Junco, 1; Brown Creeper, 1; 
Chickadee, 3. Total, 14 species, 586 individuals.—J. KirTREDGE and R. M. Mars te. 

Belmont, Mass.—Dec. 25; 11 A.M. to 12.30 P.M. Clear; light west breeze; patches 
of snow on the ground; temp., 40°. Red-shouldered Hawk, 1; Crow, 1; Downy Wood- 
pecker, 2; Blue Jay, 4; heard a flock of Chickadees; Golden-crowned Kinglet, 8. Total, 
6 species, over 16 individuals.—SAaAmMuUEL DoWsSE RoBBINS and CHANDLER, ROBBINS 
HUnr. 

Belmont, Waverley, Waltham and Lexington (Waverley Oaks Reservation and 
Rocked Meadow), Mass.—Dec. 26; 10 A.M. to 12.30 P.M. Clear; light west breeze; patches 
of snow on the ground; temp., about 40°. Hairy Woodpecker, 1; Downy Woodpecker, 
1; Northern Flicker, 1; Crow, 4; Tree Sparrow, 8; Chickadee, 12. Total, 6 species, 
26 individuals.—SAMUEL DOWSE ROBBINS. 

Belmont and Arlington Heights, Mass.—Dec. 27; 9.45 A.M. to 12.30 P.M. Clear; 
light south breeze; patches of snow on the ground; temp., 38° to 50°. Crow, 6; Downy 
Woodpecker, 2; Goldfinch, 1; Chickadee, 14; Golden-crowned Kinglet, 10, besides 
a flock heard. Total, 5 species, over 33 individuals.—SamueELt D. ROBBINS. 

Arlington Heights and Belmont, Mass.—Dec. 28; 9 A. M. to 1.30 P.M. Fair; wind 
southwest, fresh; ground bare; temp., 45° to 56°. Sharp-shinned Hawk, 1; Northern 
Flicker, 3; American Crow, 10; Tree Sparrow, 1; Junco, 2; Northern Shrike, 1; Brown 
Creeper, 1; Chickadee, 17; Golden-crowned Kinglet, 13. Total, 9 species, 49 indivi- 
duals.—Gorpon B. WELLMAN and Horace W. WRIGHT. ' 

Boston, Mass. (The Arnold Arboretum, Olmsted and Riverway Parks, the Fens, 
and Charles River, from the Harvard Bridge).—Dec. 23; 9 to 10.30 A.M. Cloudy, fol- 
lowed by copious rain; wind southeast, light; three inches of snow on the ground; temp., 
42° to 54°. Dec. 24; 9.45 A.M. to 2.30 Pp. M. Fair; wind west, fresh; ground bare; temp., 
45° to 47°. Great Black-backed Gull, 2; Herring Gull, 135; Black Duck and Red- 
legged Black Duck, 64; American Golden-eye, 40; American Coot, 2; Ruffed Grouse,. 
1; Downy Woodpecker, 1; Northern Flicker, 19; Blue Jay, 20; American Crow, 31; 
American Goldfinch, 2; White-throated Sparrow, 3; Tree Sparrow, 15; Junco, 6; Song 
Sparrow, 3; White-breasted Nuthatch, 1; Chickadee, 18; Golden-crowned Kinglet, 18. 
Total, 19 species, 381 individuals.—HoracrE W. WRIGHT. 

Cambridge, Mass.(Fresh Pond Reservation and Pout Pond Swamp).—Dec. 25; 10 
A.M. to 12.30 P.M. Fair; wind southwest, light; ground bare; temp., 34° to 44°. Great 
Black-backed Gull, 3; Herring Gull, 650; American Merganser, 25; Black Duck, and 
Red-legged Black Duck, 48; American Coot, 1; Ring-necked Pheasant, 1; American 
Sparrow Hawk, 2; Downy Woodpecker, 1; Northern Flicker, 5; Blue Jay, 1; American 
Crow, 6; Red-winged Blackbird, 1; American Goldfinch, 14; Tree Sparrow, 2; Song 
Sparrow, 6; Brown Creeper, 1; Chickadee, 5. Total, 18 species, 772 individuals.— 
Horace W. WRIGHT. 

Arnold Arboretum, Jamaica Pond, The Fenway, Charles River Basin.—Dec. 28; 
10.30 A.M. to 1 Pp. M. Weather fine; ground bare; wind southwest; temp.,. 50°. Great 
Black-backed Gull, 2; Herring Gull, 100; Black Duck, 50; Golden-eye 10; American 
Coot, 3; Flicker, 3; Crow, 50; Blue Jay, 10; Red-poll, 8; Goldfinch, 2; White-throated 
Sparrow, 1; Northern Shrike, 2; Brown Creeper, 12; White-breasted Nuthatch, 6; 
Chickadee, 50; Golden-crowned Knight, 20; Total, 16 species, 329 individuals.— 
DAN ABERCROMBIE, BARRON BRAINERD and JOHN B. BRAINERD. 

Needham, Mass.—Dec. 21; 8 A.M. to 1.30 P.M. Clear; ground covered with snow; 
wind west, light; temp., 31°. Downy Woodpecker, 2; Crow, 8; Goldfinch, 19; Tree 
Sparrow, 26; Junco, 7; Brown Creeper, 2; White-breasted Nuthatch, 1; Chickadee, 29; 
Golden-crowned Kinglet, 8. Total, 9 species, 102 individuals.—CHar.LEs E. HEL. 

West Roxbury, Mass.—Dec. 24; 9 A.M. to 12 M. Fair, becoming cloudy; ground 


26 Bird - Lore 


partly covered with snow; wind west, strong; temp., 44°. Downy Woodpecker, 1; 
Flicker, 4; Blue Jay, 2; Crow, 19; Brown Creeper, 3; White-breasted Nuthatch, 3; 
Chickadee, 11; Golden-crowned Kinglet, 6. Total, 8 species, 49 individuals —CHARLES 
E. HEIL. 

Beverley, Mass.—Dec. 25; 9.15 A.M. to 12.30 P.M. Fair; ground bare; temp., 30° 
to 40°. Great Black-backed Gull, 12; American Herring Gull, (estimated) 125; Amer- 
ican Golden-eye, 1; Downy Woodpecker, 1; Crow, 3; Purple Finch, 1; Goldfinch, 13; 
Tree Sparrow, 12; Chickadee, 8; Golden-crowned Kinglet, 2. Total, 1o species, 178 
individuals.—FRANK A. BROWN and C. Emerson Brown. 

Taunton, Mass.—Dec. 22; 9 A.M. to 1.30 P,M. Ground covered with snow; wind 
southwest, light; temp., 32°. Downy Woodpecker, 1; Flicker, 2; Blue Jay, 4; Gold- 
finch, 3; Tree Sparrow, 8; Junco, 82; Song Sparrow, 3; Myrtle Warbler, 4; Chickadee, 
10; Golden-crowned Kinglet, 2; Bluebird, 1; Total, 11 species, 120 individuals.— 
EpitH M. HopGMan. 

Taunton (Rocky Woods), Mass.—Dec. 28; 2.20 to 4.10 P.M. Cloudy; ground bare; 
wind southwest, mild; temp., 60°. Flicker, 2; Crow, 9; Tree Sparrow, 6; Song Sparrow, 
1; White-breasted Nuthatch, 2; Chickadee, 4; at home (city)), Downy Woodpecker, 
1; Flicker, 1; Brown Creeper, 1; White-breasted Nuthatch, 1; Chickadee, 1. Total, 
7 species, 29 individuals.—Mrs. M. Emma CHAce. 

Taunton, Mass.—Dec. 25; 9.30 to 11.45 A.M. Clear; ground bare; wind southwest, 
light; temp., 36°. Downy Woodpecker, 1; Flicker, 6; Blue Jay, 7; Crow, 7; Goldfinch, 
1; Tree Sparrow, 22; Junco, 16; Song Sparrow, 1; Myrtle Warbler, 4; Chickadee, 13. 
Total, 10 species, 78 individuals.—Lucy B. BLIss. 

Glocester, R. I.—Dec. 25; 8 a.m. to 12 M. Clear; ground partly bare; wind west, 
light; temp., 25°. Downy Woodpecker, 1; Chickadee, 4. Total, 2 species, 5 indivi- 
duals.—J. Irvine Hitt. 

Woonsocket, R. I.—Dec. 25; 9.30 to 11.45 A.M. Clear; ground bare except in woods; 
wind southwest, light; temp., 34° to 42°. Blue Jay, 8; Crow 14; Goldfinch, 25; Tree 
Sparrow, 5; Junco, 20; Total, 5 species, 72 individuals. CLARENCE M. ARNOLD. 

New London, Conn.—Dec. 26; 10.30 A.M. to 12.45 P.M. Clear; ground bare; wind 
southwest, light; temp., 40°. Loon, 1; Herring Gull, 6; Crow, 1; Tree Sparrow, 4; Song 
Sparrow, 6; Myrtle Warbler, 3; Junco, 7; Chickadee, 15; White-breasted Nuthatch, 
2; Brown Creeper, 1; Total, 10 species, 46 individuals.—FRANCES M. GRAVES. 

New Haven, Conn.—Dec. 24; 8.30 to I1 A.M.; 2.45 to 4.30 P.M. Clear; ground 
partly snow-covered; wind west, brisk; temp., 42° to 48°. Loon, 3; Great Black-backed 
Gull, 1; Herring Gull, 75; Old Squaw, 3; White-winged Scoter, 1; Ducks, species 
about 250; Red-shouldered Hawk, 1; Downy Woodpecker, 3; Blue Jay, 3; Crow, 
about 30; Starling, 25; Purple Finch, 1; Goldfinch, 4; Tree Sparrow, about 25; Junco, 
5; Song Sparrow, 9; Myrtle Warbler, 2; Brown Creeper, 4; White-breasted Nuthatch, 
3; Chickadee, 22; Golden-crowned Kinglet, 2. Total, 20 species, 469 individuals.— 
ALBERT W. HONYWILL, JR. 

Hartford Conn.—Dec. 25; 10.45 A.M. to 12.30 P.M. Cloudy; ground snow- “covered: 
wind south, light; temp., 40°. Sparrow Hawk, 1; Downy Woodpecker, 2; Flicker, 1; 
Blue Jay, 3; Crow, 29; Goldfinch, 2; Tree Sparrow, 2; Brown Creeper, 1; White- 
breasted Nuthatch, 4; Chickadee, 3. Total, 10 species, 48 individuals—ALBERT W. 
HONYWILL, JR. 

Momauguin to South End, East Haven, Cannes 26; 3.00 to 4.30 P.M. 
Clear; wind light, west; temp., 44°. Loon, 1; Herring Gull, 31; Red-breasted Mer- 
ganser, 1; Black Duck, 3; Golden-eye, 14; Old Squaw, 3; White-winged Scoter, 10; 
Crow, 2; Starling, 30. Total, 9 species, 95 individuals. — A. A. SAUNDERS and D. 
B. PANGBURN. 

Lake Saltonstall, New Haven, Conn.—Dec. 25; 9 A.M. to 1.15 P.M. Clear; ground 


Eighth Christmas Bird Census 27 


nearly bare; wind light, southwest. Herring Gull, 131; Black Duck, 9; Golden-eye, 26; 
Barred Owl, 1; Downy Woodpecker, 4; Flicker, 1; Blue Jay, 1; Crow, 28; Starling, 16; 
Tree Sparrow, 27; Field Sparrow, 1; Junco, 12; Song Sparrow, 4; Brown Creeper, 
3; Chickadee, 52; Golden-crowned Kinglet, 5; Robin, 2. Total, 17 species, 323 in- 
dividuals.—A. A. SAUNDERS and CLIFFORD H. PANGBURN. 

Westville, Conn.—Dec. 25; 9 A.M. Clear; wind light, southwest; temp., 34°. Downy 
Woodpecker, 1; White-throated Sparrow, 1; Tree Sparrow, 5; Chickadee, 3. 1.30 
to 4 P.M. Red-tailed Hawk, 1; Screech Owl, 1; Downy Woodpecker, 1; Blue Jay, 7; 
Crow, 4; Starling, 30; Purple Finch, 9; Goldfinch, 7; Tree Sparrow, 3; Junco, 8; Fox 
Sparrow, 1; Brown Creeper, 1; Chickadee, 12; White-breasted Nuthatch, 5; Red- 
breasted Nuthatch, 1; Bluebird, 1. Total, 17 species, 75 individuals.—Mrs. C. A. 
DYKEMAN. 

New Haven, Conn., along west shore from harbor to Woodmont.—Dec. 25; 9 to 
rr A.M. Clear; wind south to southwest; temp., 32°. Herring Gull, 100-200; Old Squaw, 
7; White-winged Scoter, 1; Ruddy Duck, (?), 1; Great Blue Heron, 1; Blue Jay, 2; 
Crow, 27; Starling, 100; Meadowlark, 7; Goldfinch, 3. Total, ro species, about 300 
individuals.—P. L. BurTrick. 

Sand Spit to Colonial Inn Cove, Orange, Conn.—Dec. 24; 9.15 A.M. to 12.30 P.M. 
Clear; ground nearly bare; wind strong, southwest; temp., 42°. Herring Gull, 393; 
American Golden-eye, 3; Old Squaw, 12; White-winged Scoter, 1; Horned Lark, 2; 
Crow, 6; Starling, 10; Tree Sparrow, 1; Song Sparrow, 1; Fox Sparrow, 1; Chickadee, 
2. Total, 11 species, 432 individuals.—D. B. PANGBURN, CLIFFORD H. PANGBURN 
and A. A. SAUNDERS. 

Edgewood Park and Mitchell’s Hill) New Haven, Conn.—Dec. 25; 9.05 A.M. to 
1.10 P.M. Clear till noon; ground nearly bare; wind light, southwest; temp., 30°. Sharp- 
shinned Hawk, 1; Hairy Woodpecker, 1; Downy Woodpecker, 4; Blue Jay, 10; Crow, 
20; Starling, 12; Purple Finch, 8; Goldfinch, 5; Pine Siskin, 2; Tree Sparrow, 18; 
Field Sparrow, 10; Junco, 3; Song Sparrow, 5; Fox Sparrow, 1; Myrtle Warbler, 1; 
White-breasted Huthatch, 7; Chickadee, 42; Golden-crowned Kinglet, 2; Robin, 1; 
Bluebird, 1; Total, 20 species, 163 individuals.—D. B. PANGBURN. 

New Haven, Conn., (Pine Rock).—Dec. 25; I1.1§ A.M. to 12.15 P.M. Partly cloudy; 
ground patched with snow; wind southwest, light; temp., 40°. Downy Woodpecker, 
2; Crow, 7; English Starling, 2; Junco, 8; Chickadee, 5. Total, 5 species, 24 indivi- 
duals.—HARoLD M. FOWLER. 

Bristol, Conn.—Dec. 25; 8.30 A.M. to12 M. Clear; calm, then cloudy; 43°; northwest 
light breeze at noon; ground covered, old crusty snow nearly bear one’s weight; temp., 
22°. Sparrow Hawk, 1; Downy Woodpecker, 1; Blue Jay, 5; Crow, 3; Goldfinch, 1; 
Tree Sparrow, 7; White-breasted Nuthatch, 2; Chickadee, 15. Total, 8 species, 35 
individuals.—FRANK BRUEN. 

South Norwalk, Conn.—Dec. 25; 8 a.m. to 3 P.M. Weather clear; warm; ground 
bare, no frost. Herring Gull, 40; Downy Woodpecker, 4; Blue Jay, 11; Crow, 12; 
Starling, 40; Goldfinch, 2; Purple Finch, 2; White-throated Sparrow, 1; Tree Sparrow, 
21; Junco, 2; White-breasted Nuthatch, 4; Chickadee, 26; Brown Creeper, 2; Robin, 
1; Bluebird, 3. Total, 15 species, 171 individuals.—WILBUR F. SMITH and REDDING- 
TON DAyTON. 

Fredonia, Chaut. Co., N. Y.—Dec. 25; 2 to 4.30 P.M. sky cloudy; ground bare; 
moderate east wind; temp., 55°. A tramp of nearly six miles and the only living crea- 
tures seen were two English Sparrows down by Willowbrook Golf Club, showing how 
northern Chautauqua has been cleared of winter birds. I met eight small boys with 
guns; Mrs: T. C. CHaArsey. 

Rochester, N. Y., to Duzgway.—Dec. 25; 9.30 A.M. to 12 M. Cloudy; ground covered 
with snow; wind southeast, light; temp., 32°. Herring Gull, 7; Downy Woodpecker, 


28 Bird - Lore 


1; Crow, 21; Tree Sparrow, 30; Song Sparrow, 4; Swamp Sparrow, 1; White-breasted 
Nuthatch, 1. Total, 7 species, 65 individuals. —NETTIE SELLINGER PIERCE. 

Central Valley, Orange Co., N. Y.—Dec. 25; 9 to 11.30 A.M. Cloudy; wind south, 
light; considerable snow; temp., 30°. Downy Woodpecker, 1; Blue Jay, 1, others heard; 
Crow, 6; Tree Sparrow, 1; Shrike, 1; White-breasted Nuthatch, 2; Chickadee, 2. Total, 
7 species, 14 individuals. Mary Van E. FERGUSON. 

Bronxville, N. Y.—Dec. 25; 8 A.M. to 5 P.M. Clear in morning, partly cloudy in 
afternoon; wind west, light and increasing; temp., 45°. Crow, 1; Starling, 7. Total, 
2 species, 8 individuals.—A. B. GURLEY. 

Pelham Manor, N. Y.—Dec. 25; 9 A.M. to 1 P.M. Clear; no wind; ground bare; 
temp., at 7.30, 31°. Herring Gull, 80; Bob-whité, 10; Downy Woodpecker, 1; Blue 
Jay, 2; American Crow, 20; Starling, 1; Junco, 25; Song Sparrow, 2; Brown Creeper, 
2; White-breasted Nuthatch, 4; Chickadee, 6; Golden-crowned Kinglet, 5. Total, 
12 species, 158 individuals.—ROBERT CRANE. 

Central Park, New York City.—Dec. 25; 12.15 to 1.20 P.M. Slightly cloudy; light, 
southwesterly breeze; temp., 50°., Herring Gull, 2; Downy Woodpecker, 1; Starling, 
7; White-throated Sparrow, 3; Junco, 4; Cardinal, 1; Chickadee, 3. Total, 7 species, 
21 individuals. —CLARENCE C. ABBOTT. 

Central Park, New York City.—Dec. 25; 8.25 to 10.40 A.M. Ramble, 1 to 1.45 
p.m.,North End. Clear; ground bare; wind west, light; temp., 37° at start. Herring 
Gull, 300; Downy Woodpecker, 3; Flicker, 1; Starling, 100; Junco, 3; Song Sparrow, 
1; Cardinal, 5; Brown Thrasher, 1; White- acid Nuthatch, 1; Chickadee, 6. Total, 
Io species, 421 individuals.—GEORGE 13, Jaube. 

Battery, New York City, to 17 Fathoms (10 miles off Seabright, N. J.) and back.— 
Dec. 25; 8.25 A.M. to 4.15 P.M. Clear; wind southwest, light; temp., 44° at noon. Loon, 
1; Kittiwake, 1; Glaucous Gull, 2; Black-backed Gull, 6; Herring Gull, 10,000; Ring- 
billed Gull, 2; Bonaparte Gull, 25; Old Squaw, 21. Total, 8 species, about 10,060 
individuals.—R. E. STACKPOLE, A. C. REDFIELD and C. H. RoGErs. 

Rockaway Park to Point and back, New York City.—Dec. 27; 10.20 A.M. to 4.10 
p.M. Partly cloudy; ground bare; wind southwest, brisk; temp., 45° at start, 42° at 
return Black-backed Gull, 5; Herring Gull, 300; Ring-billed Gull, 1; Double- crested 
Cormorant, 1; Old Squaw, 7; Crow, 1; Horned Lark, 20; Snowflake, 75; Tree Sparrow, 
1; Myrtle Warbler, 8; American Bae 2. Total, 11 species, about 420 individuals.— 
A. C. REDFIELD and C. H. ROGERS. 

College Point to Long Beach, Long Island.—Dec. 29; 7.15 A.M. to 5 P.M. Clear; 
ground bare; practically no wind; temp., 31° at start, 44° at 4 p.m. Herring Gull, 1,000; 
Marsh Hawk, 3; Red-shouldered Hawk, 2; Broad-winged Hawk, 1; Sparrow Hawk, 
Hawk, 2; Downy Woodpecker, 2; Horned Lark, 75; Prairie Horned Lark, 50; Blue 
Jay, 4; Crow, 50; Starling, 500; Meadowlark, 14; White-throated Sparrow, 2; Tree 
Sparrow, 50; Junco, 2;.Song Sparrow, 10; Chickadee, 4; Hermit Thrush, 1; Robin, 1 
Total,,19 species, 1,773 individuals.—C1iinron G. AppotT and FRANCIS HARPER. 

Mt. Sinai, Long Island, N. Y.—9.30 A.M. until dark. Ground bare; sky somewhat 
overclouded; moderate west by southwest wind; temp., 45° to 57°. Horned Grebe, 
3; Loon, 5; Red-throated Loon, 2; Great Black-backed Gull, 3; Herring Gull, 500; 
Red-breasted Merganser, 2; Black Duck, 6; Old Squaw, 41; White-winged Scoter, 
18; Surf Scoter, 8; Red-shouldered Hawk, 1; Horned Lark, 30; Blue Jay, 4; Crow, 
go; Starling, 6; Meadowlark, 1; Goldfinch, 2; Snow Bunting, 25; Tree Sparrow, 6; 
Junco, 30; Song Sparrow, 2; Winter Wren, 1; Myrtle Warbler, 7; White-breasted 
Nuthatch, 1; Chickadee, 45. Country visited:—Sound Beach, salt meadows, second- 
growth deciduous woods, upland fields and red cedar woods. Total, 25 species, 838 
individuals. —GERTRUDE A. WASHBURN and ROBERT CUSHMAN MuRPHY. 

Setauket, Long Island, N. Y.—Dec. 25; All day. Weather fair; wind south. Her- 


Eighth Christmas Bird Census 29 


ring Gull, 300; Old Squaw, 52; Shell Drake, 1; Coot, 79; Horned Lark, 29; Crow, 16; 
Chickadee, 8. Total, 7 species, 485 individuals.—RussEL W. STRONG. 

Greenport, L. I.—Dec. 25; 2 to 4.45 P.M. Partly cloudy; light, west wind; Horned 
Grebe, 4; Loon, 2; Herring Gull, 75; Black Duck, 200; Scaup Duck, 4; Old Squaw, 
roo; American Scoter, 7; White-winged Scoter, 8; American Golden-eye, 26; Bob- 
white, 1; Downy Woodpecker, 1; Horned Lark, 50; Meadowlark, 2; Goldfinch, 6; 
White-throated Sparrow, 3; Tree Sparrow, 1; Song Sparrow, 20; Junco, 2; Myrtle War- 
bler, 100; Winter Wren, 1; Chickadee, 20; Robin, ro. Total, 23 species, 644 indi- 
viduals.—K. B. SQUIRES. 

Orient Point, Long Island.—Dec. 22; 6.30 A.M. to 5 P.M. Clear; fresh, southwest 
wind; ground bare, slightly frozen in morning; temp., 30° to 40°. Horned Grebe, 34; 
Holboell’s Grebe, 1; Loon, 28; Red-throated Loon, 4; Kittiwake Gull, 300; Great 
Black-backed Gull, 5; Herring Gull, 538; Ring-billed Gull, 2; Bonaparte’s Gull, 7; 
Red-breasted Merganser, 18; Black Duck, 3; Redhead, 1; American Scaup Duck, 
55; Lesser Scaup Duck, 2; American Golden-eye, 3; Bufflehead, 11; Old Squaw, 595; 
American Scoter, 7; White-winged Scoter, 51; Surf Scoter, 108; Bob-white, 10; Turkey 
Vulture, 1; Marsh Hawk, 2; Sharp-shinned Hawk, 1; Cooper’s Hawk, 1; Red-shouldered 
Hawk, 1; Screech Owl, 1; Downy Woodpecker, 6; Flicker, 26; Horned Lark, 500; 
Prairie Horned Lark, 5; Blue Jay, 3; American Crow, 362; Fish Crow, 2; Starling, 
31; Meadowlark, 154, (two singing); Crossbill, 1; Goldfinch, 2; Pine Siskin, 5; Snow- 
flake, 55; Lapland Longspur, 1; Tree Sparrow, 82; Junco, 2; Song Sparrow, 33; Fox 
Sparrow, 1; Northern Shrike, 1; Myrtle Warbler, 155; Chickadee, 126; Golden-crowned 
Kinglet, 39; Robin, 8. Total, 50 species, 2,708 individuals. Country visited:—Shores 
of Long Island Sound, Orient and Gardiner’s Bay, hills, orchards, hardwood forests, 
cedar groves, swamp, salt marshes, ploughed fields and pastures. The Turkey Vulture 
was captured on the ground in a choking condition. Large bones were wedged firmly 
in the throat, these were released and the bird offered stale fish which it ate greedily; 
but evidently the stomach was weak from fasting and the food was immediately dis- 
gorged. The: following morning the bird was dead. —Harry, FRANK and Roy 
LATHAM. 

One Hundred and Thirtieth Street Ferry, New York, to Coytesville, South Engle- 
wood, Leonia and Palisades Park, N. J.—Dec. 22; 9.45 A.M. to 4.30 P.M. Clear; ground 
mostly bare; wind southwest, light; temp., 35° at start. Herring Gull, 500; Red-tailed 
Hawk, 7; Sparrow Hawk, 2; Hairy Woodpecker, 1; Blue Jay, 1; Crow, 7; Starling, 
35; Meadowlark, 1; Purple Finch, 1; Tree Sparrow, 10; Junco, 42; Song Sparrow 
3; Winter Wren, 2; Chickadee, several. Total, 14 species, about 620 individuals.— 
G. E. Hix and C. H. RocErs. 

Bloomfield and Newark, N. J.—Dec. 25; 9 A.M. to 2 P.M. Clear; ground bare; wind 
southwest, light; temp., 30° to 46°. Herring Gull, 2; Sharp-shinned Hawk, 1; Crow, 
3; Starling, 92; White-throated Sparrow, 6: Tree Sparrow, 7; Song Sparrow, 3; Gold- 
finch, 2. Total, 8 species, 116 individuals.—Lovis S. KOHLER. 

Passaic, N. J.—Dec. 25; 9.30 A.M. to 12 M.; 2 to 4.30 P.M. Clear; ground bare; 
wind south, light; temp., 36°. Downy Woodpecker, 3; Blue Jay, 7; Crow, 5; Purple 
Grackle, 200; Starling, 107; Goldfinch, 1; Tree Sparrow, 15; Junco, 12; Song Sparrow, 
1; Myrtle Warbler, 6; Brown Creeper, 2; White-breasted Nuthatch, 4; Chickadee, 
16. Total, 13 species, 380 individuals. —GitBrert H. TRAFTON and EDWARD UEBLING. 

Morristown, N. J.—Dec. 25; 9 to 11 A.M. Fair; ground partly bare, with some 
patches of snow; wind west, light; temp., 45°. Red-shouldered Hawk, 1; Hairy Wood- 
pecker, 2; Downy Woodpecker, 2; Blue Jay, 13; Crow, 25; Starling, 1; Purple Finch, 
4 (1 singing); Goldfinch, 2; Tree Sparrow, 12; Song Sparrow, 2; Junco, 2; Brown 
Creeper, 1; White-breasted Nuthatch, 4; Chickadee, 19; Golden-crowned Kinglet, 
16. Total, 15 species, 106 individuals.—R. C. CASKEY. 


30 Bird - Lore 


Trenton, N. J.—Dec. 25; 10 A.M.to 12 M. Fair; wind southwest; temp., 40°. Hairy 
Woodpecker, 1; Downy Woodpecker, 2; Blue Jay, 20; Crow, 9; Goldfinch, 10; Tree 
Sparrow, 2; Junco, 10; Song Sparrow, 4; Cardinal, 3; Brown Creeper, 8; Chickadee, 
12; Golden-crowned Kinglet, 20. Total, 12 species, 83 individuals.—W. L. Dix. 

Moorestown, N. J.—Dec. 25; 6.37 A.M. to 12.45 P.M. and 2 to 6.15 P.M. Clear; 
ground bare; wind west, southwest, becoming fresh; temp., 32°. Herring Gull, 5; 
Red-shouldered Hawk, 1; Hairy Woodpecker, 3; Flicker, 3; Meadowlark, 33; Tree 
Sparrow, 17; Towhee, 1; Winter Wren, 2; Tufted Titmouse, 5; Turkey Vulture, 7; 
Sparrow Hawk, 3; Downy Woodpecker, 5; Blue Jay, 19; Goldfinch, 4; Junco, 29; 
Cardinal, 4; Brown Creeper, 1; Chickadee, 8; Red-tailed Hawk, 3; Screech Owl, 1; 
Red-headed Woodpecker, 2; Crow, about 500; White-throated Sparrow, 2; Song Spar- 
row, 16; Carolina Wren, 1; White-breasted Nuthatch, 3. Total, 26 species, ahout 
678 individuals.—WILLIAM B. Evans. 

Newfield, N. J.—Dec. 25; 10 A.M. to 3.30 P.M. Clear; wind south, light at starting 
out becoming brisk later; ground bare; temp., at start 40° at return, 47°. Crow, 3; 
Blue Jay, 3; Meadowlark, 1; Tree Sparrow, 10; Junco, 7; Chickadee, 6; Golden- 
crowned Kinglet, 4. Total, 7 species, 34 individuals.—Wwn. W. Farr. 

Hackettstown, N. J.—Dec. 25; 8.15 to 11.35 A.M. and 2.20 to 4.50 P.M. Foggy 
in morning; mostly clear in afternoon; light, southeast wind; temp., 38° at 8.15 A.M. 
Downy Woodpecker, 1; Flicker, 1; Blue Jay, 2; Crow, 116; Purple Finch, 6; Tree 
Sparrow, 12; Junco, 2; Brown Creeper, 1; White-breasted Nuthatch, 2; Chickadee, 2; 
Kingfisher, 1; Total, 11 species, 146 individuals—MaAry PIERSON ALLEN. 

Ocean Grove, N. J.—Dec. 27; 9 a.M. to 12 M. Clear; ground bare; wind south, 
brisk; temp., 45° to 50°. Herring Gull, 20; Downy Woodpecker, 1; Song Sparrow, 
2; Junco, 7; Myrtle Warbler, 15. Total, 5 species, 45 individuals.—EMMA VAN GIL- 
LUWE. 

Pensauken Township, Camden County, N. J.—Dec. 25; 10.45 A.M. to 4.P.M. Clear; 
ground bare; wind southwest, strong; temp., 48°. Herring Gull, 57; Dove, flock of 36; 
Red-tailed Hawk, 2; Sparrow Hawk, 3; Crow, 400; Fish Crow, 1; White-throated 
Sparrow, 16; Tree Sparrow, 14; Junco, 8; Song Sparrow, 8; Fox Sparrow, 1; Cardinal, 
4; Winter Wren, 1; Tufted Titmouse, 2; Chickadee, 1; Robin, 1; Golden-crowned 
Kinglet, 4. Total, 17 species, 559 individuals.—RicHARD F. MILLER. 

Easton, Pa.—Dec. 25; 7.20 to 11 A.M. To 9.40 cloudy, then clear; wind northwest, 
light, ground bare; temp., 32°. at start, 57° at return. Hairy Woodpecker, 1; Northern 
Downy Woodpecker, 1; Crow, 5; Purple Finch, (heard); Tree Sparrow, 7; Junco, 
27; Song Sparrow (heard); Winter Wren, 1; Chickadee, 2; Golden-crowned Kinglet, 
2. Total, ro species, 46 individuals.—EpWwarp J. F. Marx- 

Frankford, Philadelphia County, Pa.—Dec. 24; 8.30 A.M. to 4.30 P.M. Clear; ground 
bare; wind west, strong; temp., 44°. Herring Gull, 12; Sparrow Hawk, 2; Hairy Wood- 
pecker, 1; Flicker, 1; Crow, 13; Fish Crow, 2; White-throated Sparrow, 1; Tree Spar- 
row, 11; Junco, 30; Song Sparrow, 6; Cardinal, pair; White-breasted Nuthatch, 2; 
Tufted Titmouse, 1. Total, 13 species, 84 individuals.—RIcCHARD F. MILLER. 

Fairmount Park, Philadelphia, Pa.—Dec. 26; 11 A.M. to 3.45 P.M. Clear; “an 
April day in December’; ground bare and unfrozen; wind northwest, calm, hardly 
perceptible; temp., 45°. Herring Gull, 3; American Merganser, 86; Red-breasted 
Merganser, 10; Greater Scaup Duck, 26; American Golden-eye, 12; Dove, 3; Red- 
shouldered Hawk, 1; Sparrow Hawk, 1; Downy Woodpecker, 2; Flicker, 1, (calls) ; 
Crow, 36; White-throated Sparrow, 2; Tree Sparrow, 1; Junco, 3; Song Sparrow, 5; 
Fox Sparrow, 1; Cardinal, 7; Winter Wren, 2; Brown Creeper, 1; White-breasted 
Nuthatch, 7; Chickadee, 11; Golden-crowned Kinglet, to. Total, 22 species, 220 
individuals,—RicHARD F. MILLER. 

Chestnut Hill, Pa.—Dec. 25; 9.15 to 11 A.M. Clear; ground bare; wind southeast, 


Eighth Christmas Bird Census 31 


light; temp., 33°. Herring Gull, 1; American Merganser, 5; Sharp-shinned Hawk, 
1; Hairy Woodpecker, 1; Crow, 9; Junco, 100; Goldfinch, 5; Tree Sparrow, 3; White- 
throated Sparrow, 1; Cardinal, 8; Winter Wren, 2; White-breasted Nuthatch. Total, 
12 species, 140 individuals—HELEN M. KRUGER. 

Kennett Square, Pa.—Dec. 25; 10.30 A.M. to 12.30 P.M. Wind fresh, southwest; 
few clouds; temp., 44°. Dove, 1; Turkey Buzzard, 3; Red-tail Hawk, 1; Red-shouldered 
Hawk, 1; Sparrow Hawk, 1; Flicker, 2; Crow, 21; White-throated Sparrow, 4; Tree 
Sparrow, 45; Junco, 8; Song Sparrow, 4; Cardinal, 1. Total, 12 species, 92 individuals. 
—C. J. PENNOcK. 

Chestnut Hill, Pa.,(along the Cresheim Creek).—2.20 to 5 P.M. Cloudy; ground 
patched with melting snow; wind west, quite still; temp., 40°. Downy Woodpecker, 
t; Crow, 3, ~ardinal, 7; Junco, (some in song) 40; White-throated Sparrow, 2; Song 
Sparrow, 4; Field Sparrow, 1; Tree Sparrow, (in song), 20; Myrtle Warbler, 1; Caro- 
lina Wren, 1; Winter Wren, 1; Chickadee, 3. Total, 12 species, 94 individuals.— 
‘GEORGE LEAR. 

Doylestown, Pa.—12 M. to 2.15 p.m. Clear; ground patched with melting snow; 
wind southwest, very light; temp., 45°. Hairy Woodpecker, 1; Downy Woodpecker, 
2; Blue Jay, 1; Purple Finch, (one in half-song), 4; Junco, 10; White-throated Sparrow, 
2; Song Sparrow, 2; Tree Sparrow, 35; Brown Creeper, 2; White-bellied Nuthatch, 
2; Tufted Titmouse, 5; Chickadee, (one in song), 3; Golden-crowned Kinglet, 1. Total, 
I3 species, 70 individuals.—GrorGE LEar. 

Fairmount Park, Philadelphia, Pa.—Dec. 21; 9-15 A.M. to 4.45 P.M. Weather fine; 
light snow in patches; wind light, changing to moderate northwest; temp., 35° at start, 
44° on return. American Merganser, about 100; Red-shouldered Hawk, 1; Sparrow 
Hawk, 2; Downy Woodpecker, 7; Flicker, 1; American Crow, about 25; Fish Crow, 
2; White-throated Sparrow, 10 (singing); Junco, 15; Song Sparrow, 10 (singing); 
‘Cardinal, 15; Carolina Wren, 1 (singing); Brown Creeper, 4; White-breasted Nut- 
hatch, 5; Chickadee, 5. Total, 15 species, about 200 individuals.—A. C. REDFIELD 
and L. S. PEarson. 

Radnor Township, Delaware County, Pa.—Dec. 24; 8.30 A.M. to 5 p.m. Weather 
fine; ground bare; wind high, northwest; temp., 45° at start, 50° on return. Red-tailed 
Hawk; Red-shouldered Hawk, 1; Sparrow Hawk, 4; Hairy Woodpecker, 1; Downy 
Woodpecker, 3; Crow, 108; Purple Finch, 3; Goldfineh, 1; White-throated Sparrow, 
1; Tree Sparrow, about 25; Junco, 21; Song Sparrow, 7; Cardinal, 7; Carolina Wren, 
1; Winter Wren, 3; Brown Creeper, 3; Chickadee, 3- Total, 17 species, about 190 
individuals.—LEONARD S. PEARSON. 

Radnor Township, Delaware County, Pa.—Dec. 22; 8.30 A.M. to 4.30 P.M. Clear; 
ground bare, except for few small patches of snow; wind west, moderate; temp., 32° 
at start. Red-tailed Hawk, 3; Belted Kingfisher, 1; Downy Woodpecker, 5; Flicker, 
(heard); Crow, 50; White-throated Sparrow, 2; Tree Sparrow, 60; Junco, 30; Song 
Sparrow, 4; Cardinal, 4; Carolina Wren, 1; Brown Creeper, 1; White-breasted Nut- 
hatch, 1; Tufted Titmouse, 2 (singing); Chickadee, 16; Bluebird, 1. Total, 16 species, 
182 individuals.—ALFRED C. REDFIELD. 

West Chester, Pa.—Dec. 25; 9 A.M. to 12.30 P.M. Clear; ground bare; light, south- 
west wind; temp., about freezing, on return about 40°. Goshawk, 1; Sparrow Hawk, 
1; Downy Woodpecker, 1; Crow, 33; Tree Sparrow, 15; Junco, 26; Song Sparrow, 
10; Titlark, 1; Chickadee, 9; Golden-crowned Kinglet, 2. Total, ro species, gg in- 
dividuals.—S. C. Scumucker and C. E. EXINGER. 

Delaware County, Pa.—Dec. 25; walk of some ten miles through Marple and 
Haverford Townships; 9.30 A.M. to 3.30 P.M. Clear; ground bare; wind southwest, 
almost none at start but springing into a good breeze toward noon; temp., 34°. Red- 
tailed Hawk, 1; Sparrow Hawk, 1; Downy Woodpecker, 6; Crow, 37; Goldfinch, 1; 


32 Bird - Lore 


White-throated Sparrow, 3; Tree Sparrow, 44; Junco, 17; Song Sparrow, 16; Cardinal, 
2. Total, 10 species, 128 individuals. Many sunny hillsides and alder thickets were 
visited but birds were unusually scarce.—B. W. GRIFFITHS and CHRESWELL J. HUNT. 

Bellefonte, Pa.—Dec. 25; 10 to 10.30 A.M. Cloudy; light snow on ground; wind 
west, light; temp., 40°. Feeding upon suet fastened to a tree and seen from my window 
were Downy Woodpeckers, 2; Tufted Titmouse, 2; White-breasted Nuthatch, 2. I 
saw Chickadees and Kinglets feeding there also a few days before.—ANNA J. VALEN- 
TINE. 5 

Lititz, Pa. (Upper waters of Hammer Creek, Northern Lancaster County.)— 
Dec. 22; ro A.M. to 5 P.M. Clear; ground covered with snow; wind, none; temp., 35°. 
Turkey Buzzard, 27; Sparrow Hawk, 3; Red-tailed Hawk, 4; Screech Owl, 1;Downy 
Woodpecker, 3; Crow, 1,100; Junco, 65; Tree Sparrow, 70; Song Sparrow, 6; Cardinal, 
9; White-breasted Nuthatch, 3. (The absence of Chickadees and Titmice is remark- 
able). Total, 13 species, 1,300 individuals—HERBERT H. BEck. 

Berwyn, Pa.—Dec. 25; 9 A.M. to 12.15 P.M. and 1.30 to 3.45 P.M. Clear in the morn- 
ing, but cloudy in the afternoon; ground bare; wind west at start, southwest at return, 
light in morning but strong in afternoon; temp., 40°. Hairy Woodpecker, 1; Downy 
Woodpecker, 1; Crow, 30; Purple Grackle, 1; Junco, 45; Tree Sparrow, 40; Song 
Sparrow, 2; White-throated Sparrow, 6; Cardinal, 2; Winter Wren, 1; Chickadee, 
8; White-breasted Nuthatch, 1. Total, 12 species, 138 individuals.—JoHN B. GILL. 

Columbia, Lancaster Co., Pa.—Dec. 25; 8.30 to 11.30 A.M. Clear; fair; temp., 
45°. Hairy Woodpecker, 1; Downy Woodpecker, 2; American Crow, too; Tree Spar- 
row, 10; Chipping Sparrow, 8; Junco, 23; Song Sparrow, 2. Total, 7 species, 146 indi- 
viduals.—Wmn. M. FLANAGAN and Wm. RocHow. 

Springs, Somerset Co., Pa.—Dec. 25; 9.45 A.M. to 12.10 P.M. Clear; ground snow- 
covered; wind southwest to west; temp., 31° to 42°. Downy Woodpecker, 2; Crow, 
6; American Goldfinch, 1; Tree Sparrow, 2; Junco, 6; Song Sparrow, 2; White-breasted 
Nuthatch, 2; Chickadee, 3; Golden-crowned Kinglet, 3. Total, 9 species, 27 indivi- 
duals.—ANSEL L. MILLER. 

From Paoli to Wayne, Pa.,including parts of Willistown and Easttown Townships 
in Chester County and parts of Newtown and Radnor Townships in Delaware County. 
—Dec. 28; 8.45 A.M. to 5.30 P.M.. Weather fair; ground bare; wind moderate, south- 
west; temp., 46° at start, 55° on return. Turkey Vulture, 3: Red-tailed Hawk, 2; Red- 
shouldered Hawk, 1; Hairy Woodpecker, 3; Downy Woodpecker, 2; Crow, about 125; 
Goldfinch, 10; White-throated Sparrow, 1; Tree Sparrow, about 65; Junco, 7; Song 
Sparrow, 7; Cardinal, 6; Winter Wren, 1; Brown Creeper, 10; White-breasted Nut- 
hatch, 10; Tufted Titmouse, 6; Chickadee, 15; Golden-crowned Kinglet, 3. Total, 
18 species, about 280 individuals.—JoHN S. PaTToN and LEONARD S. PEARSON. 

Allegheny, Pa., West View.—Dec. 21; 9 A.M. to 1 P.M. Cloudy; wind northwest 
to southwest, variable; about three inches of snow; temp., 30° to 36°. Sparrow Hawk, 
1; Screech Owl, 1; Hairy Woodpecker, 2; Northern Downy Woodpecker, 7; Crow, 
(heard calling); Goldfinch, 1; Tree Sparrow, 35; Chipping Sparrow, 1; Junco,. 30; 
Song Sparrow, 8 (singing); Cardinal, 2 (singing); Carolina Wren, 2; Winter Wren, 
4; Brown Creeper, 11; White-breasted Nuthatch, 15; Tufted Titmouse, 12; Chickadee, 
15; Golden-crowned Kinglet, 6. Total, 18 species, 153 individuals—Wm. G. Pit- 
CAIRN. 

Pittsburg, Pa.,(McKinley Park).—Dec. 25; 9 A.M. to 12 Mm. ‘Cloudy; ground bare, 
soft; wind southwest, strong; temp., 38°. Downy Woodpecker, 1; Song Sparrow, 1; 
Carolina Wren, 1. Total, 3 species, 3 individuals—MiLro H. MILLER. 

Lewes, Del.—Dec. 28; 7.30 A.M. to 5 P.M. Weather fair; wind southwest; temp., 
50° to 60°. Herring Gull, 8; Hooded Merganser, 4; Black Duck, 130; White-winged 
Scoter, 5; Turkey Buzzard, 89; Marsh Hawk, 1; Sharp-shinned Hawk, 1; Sparrow 


Eighth Christmas Bird Census a3 


Hawk, 3; Downy Woodpecker, 2; Flicker, 3; Crow, 406; Red-winged Blackbird, 65; 
‘Cowbird, 14; Purple Grackle, 6; Meadowlark, 44; Snow Bunting, 29; Purple Finch, 
4; Goldfinch, 22; Pine Finch, 2; Savanna Sparrow, 5; Ipswich Sparrow, 2; Song Spar- 
row, 12; Swamp Sparrow, 5; Junco, 34; Tree Sparrow, 15; Field Sparrow, 1; White- 
throated Sparrow, 8; Cardinal, 2; Towhee, 1; Myrtle Warbler, 50; American Pipit, 
18; Carolina Wren, 1; Red-breasted Nuthatch, 1; Carolina Chickadee, 12; Brown 
Creeper, 1; Golden-crowned Kinglet, 19; Robin, 26. Total, 37 species, 1,051 indivi- 
duals.—C. J. PENNOcK and SPENCER TROTTER, M.D. 

Summerville, S. C.—Dec. 25; 7.15 to 8.30 A.M., 9.30 A.M. to 2.20 P.M. and 3.20 to 
6 p.m. Clear; ground bare; wind northwest, very light; temp., 40°. Bob-white, 2; 
Mourning Dove, 4; Turkey Vulture, 30; Black Vulture, 1; Marsh Hawk, 1; Red-tailed 
Hawk, 1; Southern Hairy Woodpecker, 7; Southern Downy Woodpecker, 10; Red- 
cockaded Woodpecker, 10; Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, 1; Red-bellied Woodpecker, 
8; Flicker, 40; Phoebe, 9; Blue Jay, 18; American Crow, 50; Fish Crow, 4; Cowbird, 
3; Red-winged Blackbird, 4; Meadowlark, 60; Rusty Blackbird, 60; Purple Finch, 2; 
American Goldfinch, 14; Vesper Sparrow, 120; Grasshopper Sparrow, 2; White-throated 
Sparrow, 80; Field Sparrow, 30; Junco, 30; Song Sparrow, 56; Fox Sparrow, 1; Tow- 
hee, 22; Cardinal, 32; Pine Warbler, 7; Myrtle Warbler, 80; American Pipit, 40; 
Mockingbird, 19; Catbird, 1; Brown Thrasher, 2; Carolina Wren, 20; Winter Wren, 
2; Brown Creeper, 1; White-breasted Nuthatch, 12; Brown-headed Nuthatch, 29; 
Tufted Titmouse, 42; Carolina Chickadee, 30; Ruby-crowned Kinglet, 16; Robin, 60; 
Blue-bird, 34. Total, 47 species, 1,107 individuals.—W1tt1Am M. Norris, JR. 

Melrose, Florida.—Dec. 25; 7 to 11 A.M. Clear; ground bare; wind southwest, 
light; temp., 58°. Pied-billed Grebe, 85; Mallard, 22; Pintail, 65; Ring-necked Duck, 
250; American Bittern, 2; Great Blue Heron, 8; Little Blue Heron, 3; American Coot, 
50; Florida Bob-white, 20; Ground Dove, 27; Turkey Vulture, 18; Southern Hairy 
Woodpecker, 3; Southern Downy Woodpecker, 8; Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, 12; Red- 
bellied Woodpecker, 19; Flicker, 10; Phoebe, 7; Blue Jay, 120; Meadowlark, 6; Gold- 
finch, 4; Vesper Sparrow, 65; Savanna Sparrow, 20; Chipping Sparrow, 17; Towhee, 
35; Cardinal, 50; Loggerhead Shrike, 3; White-eyed Vireo, 26; Myrtle Warbler, 
17; Mockingbird, 30; Catbird, 7; Brown Thrasher, 15; House Wren, 2; Hermit Thrush, 
4; Robin, 40; Bluebird, 75. Total, 35 species, 1,145 individuals.— REV. WALTER 
TL CK. 

Warrington, Florida.—Dec. 25; 7.30 to 11 a.M. Clear; ground bare; light, north- 
west breeze; temp., 56°. Horned Grebe, 4; Herring Gull, 9; Turkey Buzzard, 2; 
Phoebe, 3; Florida Blue Jay, 2; White-throated Sparrow, 1; Cardinal, 2; Myrtle Warb- 
ler, 11; Water Thrush, 5; Mockingbird, 2; Short-billed Marsh Wren, 4; Ruby-crowned 
Kinglet, 5; Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, 9. Total, 13 species, 59 individuals.—F. M. BENNETT. 

Palma Sola, Fla.—Dec. 25; all day. Clear; wind northeast to northwest. Pied- 
billed Grebe, 2; Loon, 2; Herring Gull, 200; Laughing Gull, 150; Royal Tern, 175; 
Black Skimmer, 20; Florida Cormorant, 200; Brown Pelican, 250; Great Blue Heron, 
3; Louisiana Heron, 14; Little Blue Heron, 6; Black-bellied Plover, 3; Killdeer, 4; 
Semipalmated Plover, 12; Florida Bob-white, 24; Turkey Vulture, 20; Marsh Hawk, 
1; Osprey, 2; Bald Eagle, 3; Barn Owl, 1; Great Horned Owl, 2; Belted Kingfisher, 
2; Red-bellied Woodpecker, 4; Southern Flicker, 6; Phoebe, 3; Blue Jay, 10; Meadow- 
lark, 5; White-eyed Towhee, 8; Cardinal, 4; Loggerhead Shrike, 1; Blue-headed Vireo, 
2; Myrtle Warbler, 100; Oven-bird, 2; Southern Yellow-throat, 5; Mockingbird, 6; 
Catbird, 4; Marian’s Marsh Wren, 2; Ruby-crowned Kinglet, 2; Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, 
5; American Robin, 160; (on the 21st. about 4,000 Robins oe overhead). Total, 
4I species, 1,475 individuals.—ELEANOR P. EARLE. 

Palma Sola, Fla.—Dec. 25; all day. Pied-billed Grebe, 1; Loon, 3; Herring Gull, 
10; Laughing Gull, 10; Royal Tern, 5; Black Skimmer, 4; Florida Cormorant, 30; 


gyn Bird - Lore 


Brown Pelican, 40; Great Blue Heron, 2; Louisiana Heron, 16; Black-bellied Plover,. 
3; Killdeer, 2; Semipalmated Plover, 8; Bob-white, 25; Mourning Dove, 100; Marsh 
Hawk, 1; Turkey Vulture, 30; Black Vulture, 6; American Osprey, 2; Bald Eagle, 
1; Barn Owl, 1; Great Horned Owl, 2; Belted Kingfisher, 2; Southern Flicker, 2; 

Phoebe, 2; Blue Jay, 10; Cardinal 1; White-eyed Towhee, 3; Meadowlark, 1; Mary- 
land Yellow-throat, 2; Myrtle Warbler, 60; Yellow-throated Warbler, 2; Blue-head 
Vireo, 2; Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, 12; Catbird, 14; Mockingbird, 8; Ruby-crowned 
Kinglet, 1; American Robin, 200. Total, 38 species, 624 individuals.—Carios EARLE. 

Apalachicola, Florida.—Dec. 25; Near Apalachicola Bay; 6.40 to 8 a.m. Clear; 
very light, north wind; temp., 45°. On Apalachicola Bay; ro0.30 a.M. to r P.M. Clear;: 
northeast wind; temp., about 60°. Herring Gull, 24; Florida Cormorant (?), 12; Wil- 
son’s Snipe, 1; Killdeer, 11; Pelican, 32; Great Blue Heron, 1; Turkey Vulture, 1;. 
Ground Dove, 1; Phoebe, 2; Prairie Horned Lark, 30; Fish Crow, 39; Red-winged 
Black-bird, 17; Boat-tailed Grackle, 3; Goldfinch, 50; Myrtle Warbler, 3; Palm Warb- 
ler, 18; Mockingbird, 6; Golden-crowned Kinglet, 5. Total, 18 species, 256 indivi-— 
duals.—Mr. and Mrs. G. CLYDE FISHER. 

Deemer, Miss.—Dec. 25; 9.30 to 12 M. Clear; sunny; ground bare; no wind; temp..,. 
48° in morning, 68° at noon. Killdeer, 4; Bob-white, 9; Turkey Buzzard, 5; Sparrow 
Hawk, 1; Barn Owl, 1; Kingfisher, 1; Southern Downy Woodpecker, 2; Southern Hairy 
Woodpecker, 1; Red-headed Woodpecker, 20; Red-bellied Woodpecker, 3; Yellow- 
bellied Sapsucker, 2; Flicker, 3; Phoebe, 2; Florida Blue Jay, 9; Crow, 2; Purple 
Grackle; 500, Rusty Blackbird, 13; Meadowlark, 7; Goldfinch, 14; Pine Siskin, 3; Field 
Sparrow, 13; Junco, 13; White-throated Sparrow, 26; Song Sparrow, 1; Towhee, 12; 
Cardinal, 5; Loggerhead Shrike, 1; Myrtle Warbler, 8; Pine Warbler, 6; Louisiana Water 
Thrush, 1; White-breasted Nuthatch, 1; Brown-headed Nuthatch, 1; Tufted Tit- 
mouse, 30; Chickadee, 10; Brown Thrasher, 2; Mockingbird, 1; Winter Wren, 11; Caro- 
lina Wren, 4; Bewick’s Wren, 1; Golden-crowned Kinglet, 3; Ruby-crowned Kinglet,. 
2; Brown Creeper, 1; Hermit Thrush, 1; Bluebird, 7. Total, 44 species, 753 in- 
dividuals.—Mrs. F. E. WaTRoUvS. 

Knoxville, Tenn.—Dec. 26; 8 a.m. to 3.30 p.m. Clear; ground bare; wind south- 
west, very light; temp., 34° to 47°. Turkey Buzzard, 1; Flicker, 4; Phoebe, 1; Crow, 
30; Blue Jay, 3; Junco, 12; Song Sparrow, 1; Wren, 4; Titmouse, 3; Bluebird, 6. Total, 
10 species, 67 individuals.—MAaGNOLIA WOODWARD. 

Versailles, Kentucky.—Dec. 24; 10 A.M. to 12 M. Sun shining part of time; ground 
bare and soft; wind west, light; temp., 42°. Black Vulture, 1; Hairy Woodpecker, 
3; Downy Woodpecker, 2; Red-bellied Woodpecker, 3; Flicker,,3; Crow, 400; Meadow- 
lark, 1; Goldfinch, 4; Junco, 11; Song Sparrow, 1; Mockingbird, 4; Carolina Wren, 
3; Bewick’s Wren, 3; Tufted Titmouse, 1; White-breasted Nuthatch, 2; Chickadee, 
5; Bluebird, 4; Sparrow Hawk, 1; Total, 18 species, 450 individuals.—Mrs. Lucas 
BRODHEAD. 

Louisville, Kentucky.—Dec. 25; 10 A.M. to 12 M. Sky clear; ground bare; wind 
southwest and rather strong; temp., about 50°. Red-bellied Woodpecker, about 6; 
Downy Woodpecker, 3; Flicker, 1; Blue Jay, 50; Crow, 100; Junco, 30; Tree Sparrow, 
10; Cardinal, 1; Brown Creeper, 2; Chickadee, 2; Tufted Titmouse, about 40; Mock- 
ingbird, 1; Bewick’s Wren, 1. Total, 13 species, 250 individuals.—Mr. and Mrs. 
T. L. HANKINSON. 

Kansas City, Mo.—Dec. 25; 9.30 to 11.30 A.M. Clear; ground bare; wind north, 
light; temp., 35°. Screech Owl, 1; Downy Woodpecker, 3; Prairie Horned Lark, 1; 
Crow, 10; Blue Jay, 6; Purple Finch, 40; Goldfinch, 6; Song Sparrow, 1; Tree Sparrow, 
400; Junco, 50; Cardinal, 6; White-breasted Nuthatch, 10; Chickadee, 20; Titmouse, 
15; Brown Creeper, 3; Mockingbird, 4. Total, 16 species, 576 individuals.—A. F. 
SMITHSON and B. M. STIGALL. 


Eighth Christmas Bird Census 35 


St. Louis, Mo. (Forest Park.)—Dec. 25; 8.30 to 10 A.M. Clear; ground bare, except 
patches of snow; wind brisk, southwest; temp. at starting, 42°. Sparrow Hawk, 1; 
Hairy Woodpecker, 3; Downy Woodpecker, 5; Horned Lark, 5; Blue Jay, 5; Ameri- 
can Crow, 15; Junco, 35; Brown Creeper, 4; White-breasted Nuthatch, 2 ;Tufted Tit- 
mouse, 7; Chickadee, 4. Total, 11 species, 86 individuals.—R. H. DEAN. 

Kansas City, Mo. (Swope Park).—Dec. 25; 9.30 A.M. to 12 M. Clear; ground bare; 
wind northwest, twelve miles, temp., 39°. Mallard, 2; Bob-white, 20; Hairy Wood- 
pecker, 5; Downy Woodpecker, 4; Red-bellied Woodpecker, 4; Flicker, 1; Belted 
Kingfisher, 1; Blue Jay. 11; Crow, 37; Tree Sparrow, hundreds; Junco, hundreds; 
Cardinal, 100; Brown Creeper, 1; White-breasted Nuthatch, 3; Tufted Titmouse, 
11; Chickadee, 17; Mockingbird, 1. Total, 17 species, 218 individuals, plus Tree 
Sparrows and Juncos.—H. R. WALMSLEY. 

Clay Center, Kans.—Dec. 25; 9 to 9.30 A.M., 11.25 to A.M. 3.30 P.M. Clear; ground 
partly covered with snow; wind south, light. American Rough-legged Hawk, 1; Downy 
Woodpecker, 2; Prairie Horned Lark, 9; Crow, 14; Harris Sparrow, 17; Tree Sparrow,. 
44; Junco, 3; Cardinal, 4; Northern Shrike, 1; Chickadee, 4. Total, 10 species, 98 
individuals.—Mr. and Mrs. E. W. GRAVES. 

Youngstown, Ohio.—Dec. 25; 7 A.M. to 4 P.M. Cloudy; no snow; brisk, southwest 
wind; temp., 35° to 40°. Distance walked twenty miles. Ruffed Grouse, 4; Red-tailed 
Hawk, 2; Barred Owl, 1; Hairy Woodpecker, 7; Downy Woodpecker, 15; Pileated 
Woodpecker, 1; Red-bellied Woodpecker, 2; Flicker, 2; Blue Jay, 13; Tree Sparrow, 
18; Song Sparrow, 6; Towhee, 1 (female); Cardinal, 5; Carolina Wren, 1; White-breasted 
Nuthatch, 17; Red-breasted Nuthatch, 1; Tufted Titmouse, 1; Black-capped, Chicka- 
dee, 17. Total, 18 species, 114 individuals. Dec. 20, 1907 we saw about twenty male 
Towhees in same locality that we observed the female on Christmas day.—GeEo. L. 
Forpyce and Rev. S. F. Woop. 

Cadiz, Ohio.—Dec. 22; 2 to 4 p.m. Cloudy; ground partly snow covered; wind 
southeast, light; temp., 40°. Hairy Woodpecker, 3; Downy Woodpecker, 12; Red- 
bellied Woodpecker, 3; Crow, 2; Tree Sparrow, 20; Junco, 1; Song Sparrow, 12; Car- 
dinal, 24; Carolina Wren, 2, (sings); White-breasted Nuthatch, 15; Chickadee, 6; 
Golden-crowned Kinglet, 3. Total, 12 species, 103 individuals. A Yellow-bellied 
Sapsucker has been a regular visitor this winter at a bird lunch-counter kept by Miss. 
Ellison. It relishes unpicked grapes.—HARry B. MCCONNELL, JOHN CONWELI, JR. 
and Emma ELLIson. 

Cadiz, Ohio.—Dec. 22; 9 A.M. to 1 P.M. Clouds, sunshine, snow, rain and a strong, 
south wind, all struggled for supremacy; temp., 36° to 45°. Sparrow Hawk, 1; Hairy 
Woodpecker, 3; Downy Woodpecker, 12; Red-bellied Woodpecker, 6; Flicker, 2; Tree 
Sparrow, 12; Junco, 8; Song Sparrow, 2; Cardinal, 4; Carolina Wren, 5, (sings); White- 
breasted Nuthatch, 16; Tufted Titmouse, 13 (sings); Chickadee, 19. Total, 13 species, 
103 individuals.—Harry B. MCCONNELL. 

Rinards Mills, Ohio.—Dec. 18; 9 to 10 A.M. Clear; light snow; wind northwest; 
temp., 28°. Bob-white, 25; Ruffed Grouse, 4; Downy Woodpecker, 1; Pileated Wood-. 
pecker, 3; Red-headed Woodpecker, 1; Crow, 30; Goldfinch, 6; Snowflake, 5; Junco,. 
4; Song Sparrow, 4; Cardinal, 9; Wren, 2; Tufted Titmouse, 30; Robin, 3. Total, 
14 species, all in or near an old apple orchard.—ROBERT M. LEE. 

Sidney, Ohio.—Dec. 25; 7 to 8 a.m. Cloudy; ground bare; wind south, very strong; 
temp., 33°. Crow, 5; Junco, 6; Song Sparrow, 2; Cardinal, 2. Total, 4 species, 15. 
individuals.—FARIDA WILEY. 

Richmond, Ind.—Dec. 25; 8 a.m. to 12 M. Clear; slightly overcast; ground bare; 
wind south, light; temp., 30° to 42°. Sparrow Hawk, 1; Kingfisher, 1; Downy Wood- 
pecker, 7; Hairy Woodpecker, 1; Red-bellied Woodpecker, 1; Flickers, 4; Blue Jay,. 
8; Crow, 14; Cowbird, 1; Towhee, 2; Goldfinch, 20; Cardinal, 20; Junco, 50; Tree: 


36 Bird - Lore 


Sparrow, 60; White-throated Sparrow, (Singing), 1; Song Sparrow, (singing), 16; 
Carolina Wren, 1; Brown Creeper, 3; Titmouse, 4; Chickadee, 10; Golden-crowned 
Kinglet, 4. Total, 21 species, 229 individuals.—Miss CARPENTER, Lucy V. BAXTER 
CorFin and P. B. CorFin. 

Richmond, Ind.—Dec. 25; 11 A.M. to 1 P.M. Cloudy; wind west, strong; temp., 
26°. Downy Woodpecker, 1; Hairy Woodpecker, 1; Crow, 8; Blue Jay, 3; Song Sparrow, 
2; White-throated Sparrow, 1 (singing); Tree Sparrow, abundant; Juncos, abundant; 
Goldfinch, 6; Purple Finch, 3; Towhee, 1; Cardinal, 2; Chickadee, 7; Tufted Titmouse, 
1; Golden-crowned Kinglet, 2. Total, 15 species—Muiss M. BAxtEer, Mrs. J. G, 
Sutton, Mr. J. G. Sutton and Mrs. P. B. CorFins. 

Lafayette, Ind.—Dec. 27; 10 A.M. to r2 mM. Sunshiny until ro, when high west 
wind came up and became cloudy; temp. thawing, but rough wind; snow two inches 
deep. Distance traversed two miles. Sparrow Hawk, 2; Downy Woodpecker, 2; 
Flicker, 2; Crow, 10; Blue Jay, 8; Junco, 2; Tree Sparrow, 25; Song Sparrow, 2; Cardi- 
nal, 2; Titmouse, 2. Total, to species, 57 individuals.—M. L. FISHER. 

Detroit (Belle Isle).—Dec. 25; 8.15 to 11 A.m. Cloudy and hazy; no snow on ground 
but covered with heavy frost; wind very light and from northeast; temp., 34°. Herring 
Gull, 3; Hairy Woodpecker, 8; Crow, 9; White-breasted Nuthatch, 26; Chickadee, 
12; Brown Creeper, 1. Total, 6 species, 59 individuals.—JEFFERSON BUTLER. 

Peoria, Ill.—Dec. 25; 10 A.m. to 2 p.m. Cloudy but clearing; three inches of snow; 
wind strong, northwest; temp., 33°. Herring Gull, 14; Downy Woodpecker, 5; Hairy 
Woodpecker, 1; Red-bellied Woodpecker, 1; Blue Jay, 6; Crow, 5; Purple Finch, 
4; Goldfinch, 2; Tree Sparrow, 150; Junco, 125; Cardinal, 15; Brown Creeper, 4; 
White-breasted Nuthatch, 2; Tufted Titmouse, 4; Chickadee, 36. Total, 15 species, 
374 individuals. —W. H. Packarp and C. S. VANDEUSEN. 

Rock Island, Ill.—Dec. 25; 9.30 A.M. to 12.30 P.M. Partly cloudy; ground bare 
and frozen; light, northwest wind; temp., 39°. Bob-white, 17; Hairy Woodpecker, 
2; Downy Woodpecker, 3; Red-bellied Woodpecker, 1; Blue Jay, 8; Tree Sparrow, 
60; Junco, 12; Brown Creeper, 2; White-bellied Nuthatch, 3; Chickadee, 4; Golden- 
crowned Kinglet, 1. Total, rz species, 116 individuals.—Burtis H. WILSON. 

LaGrange, Ill. (Salt Creek Valley).—Dec. 25; 8.30 A.M. to 12.30 P.M. Cloudy; 
four inches of snow; wind northwest, strong; temp., 33°. Herring Gull, three to fifteen 
miles from the lake (Michigan); Prairie Hen, 5; Hairy Woodpecker, 1; Downy Wood- 
pecker, 1; Blue Jay, 4; Crow, 22; Red-poll, 12; Cardinal, 2; Brown Creeper, 1. Total, 
Q species, 51 individuals.—L. R. SANFORD and F. E. SANFORD. 

Desplains River Region, Cook County, Ill.—Dec. 24; 7.40 A.M. to 3.30 P.M. Clear; 
eight inches of crunching, becoming slushy snow; wind southwest to west, light; temp.; 
1° to 4°. Herring Gull, 2; Hairy Woodpecker, 3; Northern Downy Woodpecker, 1, 
Northern Flicker, 1; Blue Jay, 5; Crow, 24; Tree Sparrow, 30; Junco, 2; Towhee, 11; 
Brown Creeper, 8; Chickadee, 3; White-breasted Nuthatch, 1. Total, 12 species, 81 
individuals.—FRANK C. Gates and RatpH P. GATEs. 

Graceland Cemetery, Chicago; Evanston; Glenco; Northfield; Skokie Swamp to 
Evanston, Cook County, Ill.—Dec, 25; 7.10 A.M. to 3.20 p.m. Cloudy; four to six inches 
snow; wind northwest, strong in the open; temp., o° to 5°. Loon, x; Herring Gull, 
6; American Merganser, 15; Lesser Scaup, 160; American Golden-eye, 8; White-winged 
Scoter, 1; American Rough-legged Hawk, 1; Hairy Woodpecker, 2; Downy Woodpecker, 
1; Blue Jay, 15; Crow, 22; Tree Sparrow, 18; Junco, 3; Towhee, 1; Brown Creeper, 
13; Chickadee, 3; Robin, 1. Total, 17 species, 271 individuals.—FRANK C. GATES. 

Chicago.—Dec. 25; 9 A.M. to 1 P.M. Cloudy; wind west, veering to northwest; 
temp., 34°; ground with four inches of snow. Herring Gull, 15; Ring-billed Gull, 
Downy Woodpecker, 3; Horned Lark, 2; Blue Jay, 10; Crow, 23; Goldfinch, 10; Tree 
Sparrow, 12; Total, 8 species, 78 individuals.—H. S. PEPoon. 


Eighth Christmas Bird Census 37 


Warren, Ill.—Dec. 26; 9 A.M. to 1 P.M. Clear; ground bare; wind southwest, light; 
temp., 48°. Distance walked five miles. Canada Goose, 8; Prairie Hen, 44; Mourn- 
ing Dove, 1; Red-tailed Hawk, 3; Red-shouldered Hawk, 1; Rough-legged Hawk, 3; 
Sparrow Hawk, 2; Screech Owl, 2; Hairy Woodpecker, 3; Downy Woodpecker, 3; 
Horned Lark (Prairie), 5; Blue Jay, 15; Crow, 128; Red-winged Blackbird, 1; Tree 
Sparrow, 30; Brown Creeper, 2; White-bellied Nuthatch, 1; Chickadee, 14. Total, 
18 species, 236 individuals.—H. S. PEPOON. 

Jackson Park, Chicago, Ill.—Dec. 25; 7 A.M. to 2 p.m. Clear to cloudy; ground 
covered with snow; wind west to northwest; twenty to twenty-five miles an hour; temp., 
35° to 40°. Herring Gull, 50; Ring-billed Gull, 30; Bonaparte’s Gull, 1; American 
Merganser, 2; Red-breasted Merganser, 1; Downy Woodpecker, 4; Blue Jay, 2; Total, 
7 species, go individuals —Epwarp E. ARMSTRONG and Cari C. LAwson. 

Stickney, Chicago, Ill.—Dec. 25; 12 m. to 3 p.m. Cloudy; ground covered with 
snow; wind northwest, twenty miles an hour; temp., 40°. Ring-billed Gull, 8; Crow, 
3; Lapland Longspur, 2. Total, 3 species, 13 individuals.—J. L. DEVINE. 

Moline, Ill.—Dec. 27; 10 A.M. to 12 M., on Arsenal Island in Mississippi River. 
Partly clear; ground bare; wind southwest, light, temp., 52°. Bob-white, 20; Hairy 
Woodpecker, 5; Downy Woodpecker, 7; Red-bellied Woodpecker, 1; Blue Jay, 3; 
Crow, 2; Tree Sparrow, 8; Cardinal, 3; Junco, flock of 30; White-breasted Nuthatch, 
7; Chickadee, 9. Total, 11 species, 95 individuals.—Mrs. E. H. PuTNAM and GRACE 
PUTNAM. 

Grinnell, Iowa.—Dec. 22; 2 to 5 p.m. Cloudy; misty; little snow on ground; wind 
northeast, light; temp., 23°. Hairy Woodpecker, 1; Downy Woodpecker, 3; Flicker, 
1; Blue Jay, 3; Crow, 5; Junco, 2; Tree Sparrow, 40; Brown Creeper, 1; White-breasted 
Nuthatch, 1; Chickadee, 7. Total, 10 species, 64 individuals.—W. C. Staat. 

Cedar Rapids, lowa.—Dec. 29; 11 A.M. to 12.20 P.M. Pasture land, meadow, mixed 
woods and cemetery; cloudy; one inch of snow on ground; wind southeast, strong; 
temp., 32°; began to snow at 11.25. Downy Woodpecker, 2; Red-shafted Flicker, 1; 
Blue Jay, 4; Crow, 1; White-breasted Nuthatch, 2. Total, 5 species, 10 individuals.— 
GLEN M. HATHORN. 

Milwaukee, Wis.—Dec. 22; 9.30 A.M. to 1.30 P.M. Cloudy; snow and rain, ground 
covered; wind southwest, light; temp., 32° to 30°. Herring Gull, 7; Blue Jay, 2. Total, 
2 species, 9 individuals. Dec. 27; 8.45 to 10.45 a.m. Cloudy; light fog; ground covered; 
wind southwest, light; temp., 47°. Herring Gull, 61; Lesser Scaup, 227; Barrow’s 
Golden-eye, 26; Bufflehead, 7; Downy Woodpecker, 1. Total, 5 species, 322 indivi- 
duals.—I. N. MITCHELL. 

Madison, Wis.—Dec. 27; 11 A.M. to 12 M. Day clear; slight covering of snow, 
wind northwest, light; temp., 46°. Herring Gull, 1; Blue Jay, 4; Golden-crowned 
Kinglet, 7; Brown Creeper, 2; Chickadee, 2. Total, 5 species, 16 individuals.—R. H. 
DENNISTON. 

Kilbourn, Wis.—Dec. 24 to 26; clear; ground mostly bare; wind southwest; temp., 
36°. ‘Hoot’? Owl, 1; Downy Woodpecker, 2; .Juncos, 50; Blue Jay, 3; Goldfinch, 7; 
Nuthatch, 1; Chickadee, 6. Total, 7 species, 70 individuals.—CHESTER W. SMITH. 

Elkhorn, Wis.—Dec. 26; 9.30 A.M. to 12 M. Clear, clouding before 12 M.; ground 
covered with snow; wind southeast, strong; temp., 30°. Dec. 27; 9.30 A.M. to 12 M. 
Thawing, ground nearly bare; wind southwest, strong; temp., 40°. Canada Goose, 
32; Downy Woodpecker, 1; Blue Jay, 17; Crow, 17; Song Sparrow, 1; Tree Sparrow, 
2; Brown Creeper, 2; White-breasted Nuthatch, 1; Red-breasted Nuthatch, 1; Golden- 
crowned Kinglet, 2. Total, ro species, 76 individuals—Cora HENDERSON, MABEL 
F. BECKWITH and SARAH FRANCIS. 

Sheboygan Falls, Wis.—Dec. 25; 9 A.M. to 12 M. Ground covered with about one 
inch of snow; wind west, strong; partly cloudy, toward end of trip it started to snow; 


38 Bird - Lore 
temp., 30°. Hairy Woodpecker, 1; Downy Woodpecker, 5; Blue Jay, 6; Crow, 200; 
Red-poll, 6; Snowflake, 12; Junco, 8; White-breasted Nuthatch, 1; Chickadee, 3; 
Golden-crowned Kinglet, 3. Total, ro species, 245 individuals.—JAMES SANFORD. 

Minneapolis, Minn.—Dec. 24; 7.30 A.M. to 12 M. Light snow; weather cloudy; 
wind southeast; temp., 9° to 30°. Downy Woodpecker, 2; Blue Jay, 5; Tree Sparrow, 
40; Goldfinch, 2; Nuthatch, 8. Total, 5 species, 57 individuals.—HARRIET ORNI- 
THOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 

Zumbra Heights to Excelsior, Minn. Eight miles forest and country roads.— 
Dec. 25; 10 A.M. to rt P.M. Clear; two inches snow; light, northwest wind; temp., 8° 
above zero. Downy Woodpecker, 2; Brown Creeper, 4; White-breasted Nuthatch, 7. 
Total, 3 species, 7 individuals.—E. F. Papopy, JR. 

Red Wing, Minn.—Dec. 25; 8.15 A.M. to 12.30 P.M. Cloudy most of the morning; 
ground lightly covered with snow; wind northwest, very strong, almost a gale at times; 
temp., 18°. Hairy Woodpecker, 1; Blue Jay, 2; Goldfinch, 1; Purple Finch, 15; Chick- 
adee, 12; White-breasted Nuthatch, 4; Robin, zr. Total, 7 species, 36 individuals.— 
Nets. BOoRGEN, FuTHJOF WACE and CHARLES PHILLIPS. 

Sioux Falls, S. D.—Dec. 29; 1.30 to 5.30 p.m. Cloudy, snowing all day; ground 
covered with about half a foot of snow in evening; wind northeast, medium. Prairie 
Chicken, 2; Long-eared Owl, 1; Downy Woodpecker, 1; Tree Sparrow, 20. Total, 
4 species, 24 individuals.—ADRIAN LARSON. 

Littleton, Colo.—Dec. 25; 8 a.m. to 2.30 P.M. Clear; ground partly covered with 
snow, melting; wind northeast, light; temp., 26° at time of starting, 56° when returned. 
Blue-winged Teal, 1; American Coot, 1; Ring-necked Pheasant, 5; Ferruginous Rough- 
legged Hawk, 3; Red-shafted Flicker, 10; Desert: Horned Lark, too; Black-billed 
Magpie, 50; Long-crested Jay, 10; Red-winged Blackbird, 20; Western Meadowlark, 
t; Purple Finch, 50; House Finch, 10; Pine Finch, ro; Western Tree Sparrow, 100; 
Slate-colored Junco, ro; Pink-sided Junco, 40; Mountain Song Sparrow, 60; Long- 
billed Marsh Wren, 2; Long-tailed Chickadee, ro. Total, 19 species, 493 individuals. 
—GEo. RICHARDS. 

Edmonton, Alta, Canada.—Dec. 23; 10 A.M. to 3.45 P.M. Clear; four inches 
snow during previous night; wind south; two to three miles; temp., 30°. Canadian 
Ruffed Grouse, 1; Hairy Woodpecker, 2; Downy Woodpecker, 2; Western Horned 
Owl, 1; Pine Grosbeaks, 2; Chickadee, 8. Total, 6 species, 16 individuals.—J. A. 
Fire and JNo. M. SCHRECK. 

Stoney Plain, Alberta.—Dec. 17; 8 A.M. to r P.M. Clear; about two inches of snow; 
light, south wind; temp., 0°. Snowflake, 200; Raven, 2; Rough-legged Hawk, 1; Pine 
Grosbeak, 10; Canada Jay, 4; Chickadee, 10. Total, 6 species, 227 individuals.— 
SrpNnEy S. S. STANSELL. 

Seattle to Bremerton, Wash. (eighteen miles by steamer and return.)—Dec. 26; 
9 A.M. to 5 p.m. Morning cloudy, afternoon clearing; light wind from southwest; temp., 
at 8 A.M. 38°. Holboell’s Grebe, 7; Horned Grebe, 31; Pacific Loon, 3; Marbled Mur- 
relet, 40; Pigeon Guillemot, roo; Califernia Murre, 1; Glaucous-winged Gull, 4,500; 
Herring Gull, 200; Short-billed Gull, 1,200; Bonaparte’s Gull, 2; American Merganser, 
60; Red-breasted Merganser, 30; Hooded Merganser, 2; American Wirgeon (?), 40; 
Lesser Scaup Duck, 8; Bufflehead, 1; White-winged Scoter, 400; Surf Scoter, 50; Ruddy 
Duck, 1; Kingfisher, 1; Harris’ Woodpecker, 1; Northwest Crow, 88; Pine Siskin, 
60; Oregon Junco, 31; Rusty Song Sparrow, 26; Yakutat (?) Fox Sparrow, 1; Oregon 
Towhee, 9; Cedar Waxwing, 1; Seattle Wren, 2; Western Winter Wren, 9; Chestnut- 
backed Chickadee, 22; Western Golden-crowned Kinglet, 17; Western Robin, 3; Varied 
Thrush, 1. Total, 35 species, 7,000 individuals—W. Lron DAwson. 

Annandale (near Los Angeles), Cal.—Dec. 25; 9 to 10.20 A.M. and 3.30 to 5 P.M. 
Clear; wind westerly, very light; temp., 68°. Around ranch house. Valley Partridge, 


Eighth Christmas Bird Census 39 


I (several heard); Mourning Dove, 5; Turkey Vulture, 3; Sharp-shinned Hawk, 1; 
Desert Sparrow Hawk, 2; Red-shafted Flicker, 3; Anna’s Hummer, 2; Ash-throated 
Flycatcher, 1; Black Phoebe, 2; California Jay, 4; Western Meadowlark, 7; Brewer’s 
Blackbird, 30; House Finch, 21; Arkansas Goldfinch, 6; Western Lark Sparrow, 
2; Gambel’s Sparrow, 27; Song Sparrow, 2; California (or Anthony) Towhee, 13; 
California Shrike, 5; Audubon’s Warbler, 19; Western Mockingbird, 7; Dotted Cafion 
Wren, 2; Plain Titmouse, 8; California Bush-Tit, 13; Ruby-crowned Kinglet, 3; Western 
Robin, 18. Total, 26 species, about 207 individuals—ExttTa M. LEwis. 

San Diego, Calif.—Dec. 25; 7.15 to 8.15 a.m., hills of City Park; 2 to 4.15 P.M., 
Cafion one mile out; elevation 50 to 350 feet. Ground partially covered with sage, 
alder and willow, and some pepper and eucalyptus trees. Sky clear; temp., 45° to 
80°. Wind northwest but very light. Valley Partridge, 300; Western Red-tailed Hawk, 
1; Road Runner, 1; Red-shafted Flicker, 1; Black-chinned Hummingbird, 7; Costa’s 
Hummingbird, 8; Couch’s Kingbird, 1; Black Phoebe, 2; Horned Lark, 11; California 
Blue Jay, 1; Raven, 3; Meadowlark, about 75; California Purple Finch, about 100; 
Arkansas Goldfinch, 2; Western Vesper Sparrow, 7; White-crowned Sparrow, 35; 
Tree Sparrow, 7; California Towhee, 42; California Shrike, 3; Bell’s Vireo, about 35; 
Audubon’s Warbler, about 100; Long-tailed Chat, 4; Mockingbird, 2; Curve-billed 
Thrasher, 18; Dwarf Hermit Thrush, 2; Bluebird, 16. Total, 26 species, 784 indivi- 
duals.—H. D. MEISTER. 


CARDINAL ON NEST 
Photographed by IF. E. Howe, Sterling, Ill. 


Book Mews and Meviews 


A PRELIMINARY CATALOG OF THE BIRDS 
or Missouri. By Orro WIDMANN. St. 
Louis, Mo., 1907. [Trans. Acad. Sci- 
ence, St. Louis, Vol. XVII, No. 1, 288 


pages. ] 

A state bird-list presenting authorita- 
tively and adequately what is known of 
the distribution and manner of occurrence 
of the birds of the area under considera- 
tion is one of the most valuable contri- 
butions to the foundation of ornithologi- 
cal knowledge. It is a stable starting 
point for all subsequent investigation 
and done well it has not to be done again 
in a generation. 

The preparation of such a list requires 
long-continued experience in the field to 
which it relates, not alone that the author 
may gain much information at first-hand, 
but that through personal observation 
he may weigh critically all data contributed 
by others. 

These conditions and many others are 
admirably filled by the author of this 
volume and the result is of that high order 
which his previous contributions to orni- 
thological literature have led us to expect 
from his pen. 

Introductory sections treat of the sources 
of information which have been drawn 
on,—bibliography, explanation of terms 
used, faunal areas, climate, topography, 
decrease of birds, and bird protection. 
The twenty pages devoted to these sub- 
jects are followed by the list proper, in 
which 383 species and subspecies are 
treated. Of this number 353 have been 
duly accredited to the state and of these 
162 are known to nest. 

The annotations contain a _ general 
statement of the birds’ range, followed by 
a detailed statement of its status in Mis- 
souri, of interest to students of distri- 
bution at large and of special value to 
the local student. We congratulate Dr. 
Widmann on the appearance of this book 
in both meanings of the word. It should 
do much to stimulate the study of birds 
in Missouri.—F. M. C. 


AMERICAN BIRDS STUDIED AND PHOTO- 
GRAPHED From Lire. By WILLIAM 
LovELL FINLEY. Illustrated from Pho- 
tographs by Herman T. Bohlman and 
the Author. Charles Scribner’s Sons. 
New York, 1907. tI2mo. xvi + 256 
pages, 48 full-page half-tones. 


Mr. Finley has here brought together 
some of his earlier studies of bird-life 
which, originally published in ‘The 
Condor’ and other magazines, we are 
glad to have in book form. His skill and 
patience, together with that of his asso- 
ciate, Mr. Bohlman, are too well known 
to call for comment here, but due empha- 
sis should be made of the fact that although 
the text of these stories of bird-life was 
evidently prepared with a popular au- 
dience in mind, it contains a large amount 
of original and novel information in regard 
to the birds treated, resulting from the 
intimate, relation which the 
bird photographer establishes between 
himself and his subject. 

The formal bird biographer will there- 
fore find here much material worthy of 
quotation, and for this reason we could 
wish for fuller data in regard to the place 
and time where these studies were made. 

We must express our regret that Mr. 
Finley has marred his book by inaccu- 
racies in nomenclature which has led 
him to give the common names of eastern 
birds to western species which are not 
even their representatives. Neither the 
Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata) nor the 
Bluebird (Sialia_ sialis), for example, 
are found west of the Rockies, nor are 
they represented there by  subspecific 
forms. As Mr. Finley very truly remarks 
(prefatory note) ‘‘the naturalist who uses 
the camera in the field often has the ad- 
vantage of backing his observations with 
proof,’’ but when he labels a photograph 
of a California Jay ‘Blue Jay’ (see figures 
facing pages 165 and 168) he is not making 
proper use of his evidence. 

Mr. Finley’s work is good enough to 
stand on its merits and we believe he 


personal 


(40) 


Book News and Reviews 41 


will find eastern readers just as much 
interested in his attractive stories of 
Western bird-life if he calls his subjects 
by their right names.—F. M. C. 


Tue DEVELOPMENT OF NESTLING FEATH- 
ERS. By Lynps Jones. Laboratory 
Bulletin No. 13, Oberlin College, Ober- 
lin, Ohio, 1907. 8vo. 18 pages, VIII 
plates. 

Professor Jones states that the studies 
on which this paper is based were made 
for the purpose of giving ‘“‘a more com- 
plete account of the development of the 
down, or neossoptile, than has been given 
by previous writers, and to show the true 
relation of this structure to the first 
definitive feathers.” 

After explaining the methods employed 
in the preparation of material, the develop- 
ment of the feather germ and of the barbs 
and barbules is described, and the relation 
of the down to the first definitive feather 
is discussed, the conclusion being reached 
that “the first down and its succeeding 
definitive feather are produced by one con- 
tinuous growth, and therefore cannot be 
regarded as two distinct feathers.” 

Professor Jones’ paper is an important 
contribution to the histology of feather 
growth and we trust he will follow it 
with one on the taxonomic value of the 
characters shown by the neossoptile.— 
Bo MAC. 


Gray LADY AND THE BIRDS; STORIES OF 
THE BIRD YEAR FOR HOME AND SCHOOL. 
By Mabel Osgood Wright. New York. 
The Macmillan Co., 1907. r2mo. xx + 
437 pages; 48 full-page plates, r2 colored. 
Mrs. Wright has succeeded in weaving 


into the narrative of a story well designed 
to hold the attention of juvenile readers a 
surprising amount of information in 
regard to birds, much of which, it may be 
added, is not to be found in the popular 
bird books. The following chapter or 
subject headings will give an indication 
of the book’s contents: The bird—what 
is it?; Migrations; Molting; What the 
birds do for us and what we should do for 
them; Bird protection; Housing; Feeding; 
Feathers and Hats; The Procession Passes; 


The Flight of theBirds; Hawks and Owls; 
Tree-Trunk Birds; Game Birds; Winter 
Birds; Spring Birds; May Birds. 

In the arrangement of matter and the 
method of treatment the author has had 
the needs of teachers in mind; indeed it 
was the success of a pamphlet written 
for distribution by the Connecticut Au- 
dubon Society to the teachers of Con- 
necticut that induced Mrs. Wright to 
prepare this volume. 

Most of the illustrations, including 
the twelve colored ones, have appeared 
in the Educational Leaflets of the National 
Association of Audubon Societies; some 
are from ‘Citizen Bird;’ others are from 
Brrp-LoreE and four of the most inter- 
esting are by Dr. C. F. Hodge. 

Mrs. Wright also acknowledges her 
indebtedness to various writers for quo- 
tations from their works, while the Gray 
Lady herself presents the subject of bird 
study in so attractive a way that she will 
be sure to win the attention and interest 
of many children who might be repelled 
by* exactly the same matter less skilfully 
handled.—F. M. C. 


Birps AS CONSERVATORS OF THE FOREST. 
By F. E. L. BEAL. Rep. N. Y. Forest, 
Fish and Game Commission. 1902-3; 
pp. 236-274; 14 full-page colored plates. 
Mr. Beal quotes Dr. A. D. Hopkins, 

who is in charge of Forest Insect Investi- 

gations in the Bureau of Entomology of 
the United States Department of Agri- 
culture, to the effect that the ‘‘annual loss 
from insect work on forest trees, and their 
crude and finished products, amounts to 
at least one hundred million dollars.” 

As a complementary statement, Mr. 

Beal adds “One very important means 

which Nature has provided for the 

restriction of these pests within reasonable 
bounds is found in the insect-eating birds, 
many species of which spend most of their 
lives upon trees, and subsist upon the 
insects found thereon.”?’ The memoir is 
devoted to the birds of this class, the 
food habits and economic value of Wood- 
peckers, Titmice, Nuthatches, the Brown 

Creeper, the Warblers, Kinglets, Cuckoos 

and Vireos being discussed at’ length. 


42 Bird - Lore 


The value of birds as the distributors 
of seeds is also described, the Robin, Cedar 
Waxwing, Blue Jay, Crow, Pine Grosbeak, 
and Crossbills rendering good service in 
this connection. 

The part that the birds of prey play in 
forest preservation is shown in their de- 
struction of the rodents so injurious to 
young trees. 

The life-like, colored portraits by Fuer- 
tes of many of the species mentioned 
add greatly to the attractiveness of Pro- 
fessor Beal’s paper and increase the effec- 
tiveness of the information it contains.— 
1 MCs 


The Ornithological Magazines 


THE WARBLER.—The third volume of 
‘The Warbler,’ which appears as an 
annual bulletin of the 
editor, John Lewis Childs, is a pamphlet 
of 56 pages, illustrated with a number of 
half-tones and a colored frontispiece of 
the eggs of the Santa Catalina Partridge. 

Among other articles this publication 
contains ‘The Breeding of the Arctic 
Towhee’ and the ‘Rock Wren a Cliff 
Dweller,’ by P. B. Peabody; ‘Field Notes 
from the Upper Penobscot,’ by J. W. 
Clayton; ‘Breeding of Harlan’s Hawk in 
Iowa,’ by Charles R. Keyes, and ‘Long 
Island Bird Notes,’ by John Lewis Childs. 
There are also two papers by John 
Bachman; the first, entitled “Notes on 
Some Experiments Made on the Buzzard 
of Carolina—Calthartes aura and C. 
atratus’, contains a record of the experi- 
ments on which Bachman’s paper on 
the ‘Sense of Smell in Buzzards,’ published 
in Loudon’s Magazine of Natural History 
for 1834, was based. It is here stated to 
be “from original undated manuscript,” 
but further details as to its history would 
be of interest. 

The second paper is Bachman’s well- 
known ‘Essay on the Migration of Birds 
in North America,’ which appeared in 
Silliman’s ‘American Journal of Science’ 
(1836, pages 81 to 100), but is well worth 
republishing, though a reference to the 
original place of publication would have 
been desirable.—F. M. C. 


museum of its 


THE Conpor.—‘ The Condor’ for No- 
vember, 1907, contains several notes of 
unusual interest on the habits and dis- 
tribution of Western birds. In the opening 
article, which is illustrated by two half- 
tones, Florence Merriam Bailey describes 
the nesting of the White-throated Swifts 
at Capistrano, California, where seven 
nests were located in cracks in the walls 
of the ruins of the old Spanish mission. 
The White-throated Swift usually nests 
high up in the most inaccessible cliffs and 
the finding of its nest only a few feet from 
the ground in the walls of a building is a 
remarkable, if not a unique discovery. 
Of almost equal interest is the record 
of the breeding of the Cassin Sparrow 
(Peucea cassini) in eastern Colorado. 
Under the title “A New Breeding Bird 
for Colorado,’ L. J. Hershey and R. B. 
Rockwell describe the finding of the nest 
in July, 1907, at Barr, about twenty 
miles northeast of Denver. The-species is 
common in central and western Kansas, 
and in Texas, New Mexico and Arizona, 
but has been found only once before in 
Colorado—a single specimen taken by 
E. R. Warren, in May two or three years 
ago, near Springfield, Baca county, in 
the southeastern part of the state. The 
present record not only fills in a supposed 
gap in the range, but carries the known 
distribution of the species 150 miles west 
of the Kansas boundary. Still another 
article to which special attention may be 
called is that by John E. Thayer on ‘Eggs 
of the Rosy Gull.’ Mr. Thayer figures 
an adult male, a young bird in the down, 
and four eggs of the Rosy Gull obtained 
from M.S. A. Bauturlin, a Russian orni- 
thologist, who collected them in June, 
1905, in the delta of the Kolyma river, 
in northeastern Siberia. The Ross, or 
Rosy Gull (Rhodostethia rosea) is one of 
the rarest of the Gulls. Until recently 
very little was known of its distribution 
or habits, as it is an arctic species whose 
range extends into high latitudes. 

Brief notes on the birds observed during 
a trip through the Redwoods of Santa 
Cruz county, California, ‘From Boulder 
to the Sea’ are given by Milton S. Ray;. 


Book News 


a description of a large breeding ‘Colony 
of Tricolored Blackbirds’ near Fresno, 
California, is presented by John G. Tyler; 
and an interesting account is contributed 
by Rev. P. B. Peabody of ‘The Prairie 
Falcons of Saddleback Butte’ in Sioux 
county, Nebraska, and of repeated at- 
tempts, finally successful, to locate the 
nesting site. In ‘A Collecting Trip by 
Wagon to Eagle Lake, Sierra Nevada 
Mountains,’ Harry H. Sheldon includes 
an annotated list of 91 species of birds 
and, among other interesting notes, 
records the nesting of the Cinnamon Teal 
at Eagle Lake and of the Northern Pileated 
Woodpecker near Big Meadows. The 
former record apparently gives the most 
northern locality at which the Cinnamon 
Teal has been found breeding in the 
state. 

Two articles on Southwestern birds 
complete the list of papers. M. French 
Gilman concludes his list of ‘Some Birds 
of Southwest Colorado,’ and Austin Paul 
Smith contributes some brief 
Notes from an 


‘Summer 
Arizona Camp.’ ‘The 
most interesting point in the latter article 
is the record of the presence in the Whet- 
stone Mountains of three species each 
of Thrashers, Orioles, Tanagers and 
Partridges, and no less than four repre- 
sentatives of the family of Nighthawks 
and Whip-poor-wills. 

This number of ‘The Condor’ ends 
with page 211 and completes Volume IX— 
a volume larger than most of its predeces- 
sors, if not the largest in the series.— 
Bsus ye led 


Book News 


‘The Century’ for January contains 
Mr. Finley’s remarkable study ‘The Home- 
Life of a California Condor,’ which those 
who were fortunate enough to hear it will 
recall as one of the most stirring accounts 
of field-work ever presented before the 
American Ornithologists’ Union. 

Messrs. A. and C. Black (Soho Square, 
London, W.) announce the publication 
of the ‘Birds of Britain’ by J. Lewis Bon- 
hate. The book will be illustrated by too 


and Reviews Ne 
full-page plates reproduced by colortype 
from the originals of Dresser’s ‘Birds of 
Europe’ in a manner which; if we may 
judge from the specimen plates examined, 
will be wholly satisfactory both to orni- 
thologist and artist. 

In ‘The Nature Study for 
December, Bina Seymour has some ‘Ob- 
servations on Barn Swallows’ in which it 
appears that two young birds which left 
the following day were ‘fed on August 7, 
332 times. Feeding began at 6.03 A.M. and 
ended at 6.51 p.m. The birds were fed 
“‘almost without exception,” alternately 


Review’ 


and the average number of insects for each 
young bird is said to be 166, but does 
it follow that only one insect was given 
each feeding ? 

We have received a prospectus of ‘The 
Birds of Maine’ by Ora W. Knight (84’ 
Forest Ave., Bangor, Me.), which it is 
expected will be ready for delivery not 
later than April 15. The work will contain 
descriptions of plumages as well as biog- 
raphies. ‘ 

Witherby & Co., 326 High Holborn, 
London, announce the publication of a 
special photographic number of ‘British 
Birds’ on ‘The Home-Life of Some Marsh 
Birds’ by Emma L. Turner and P. H. 
Bahr. It is illustrated with thirty-two full- 
page plates and many text illustrations. 
The price, postpaid, is seventy cents. 

The December, 1907, number of ‘For 
California’ (Vol. X, No. 1), issued by the 
California Promotion Committee, at San 
Francisco, is a ‘Bird Number’ and con- 
tains the following articles: ‘Birds in 
California’, F. W. D. Evelyn; ‘Birds of the 
California Desert,’ F. W. Koch; ‘Birds of 
My Winter Garden,’ Bertha Chapman; 
‘The Greatest Bird Rookery in the West,’ 
M. S. Ray; ‘Some Birds the Stranger 
Sees,’ Elizabeth Grinnell; ‘Bird Beauty 
and Perfection,’ W. E. Ritter; ‘A Bird 
with a Language,’ Joseph Grinnell; ‘Birds 
of the Mountains,’ W. W. Price; ‘Pasa- 
dena Tourists,’ W. P. Taylor; ‘Gulls of 
San Francisco Bay,’ C. E. Edwords; | 
‘The Audubon Society of California,’ W- 
Scott Way. 


44 


Bird- Lore 


A Bi-monthly Magazine 
Devoted to the Study and Protection of Birds 
OFFICIAL ORGAN OF THE AUDUBON SOCIETIES 
Edited by FRANK M. CHAPMAN 
Published by THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 


Vol. X Published January 1, 1908 No. 1 


‘ SUBSCRIPTION RATES 

Price in the United States, Canada and Mexico 
twenty cents a number, one dollar a year, post- 
age paid. 


COPYRIGHTED, 1908, BY FRANK M. CHAPMAN 


Bird-Lore’s Motto: 
A Bird in the Bush ts Worth Ta:o in the Hand 


Wits this issue BrRD-LORE reaches its 
tenth birthday and the Editor knows of no 
better way to celebrate the occasion than 
to acknowledge his indebtedness to those 
whose codperation has made these ten 
years what we believe to have been a period 
of steady progress in the development of 
the magazine and in the widening of its 
sphere. of influence. 


Birp-Lore’s defects apparent 
enough and no one regrets them more 
strongly than its Editor who ever deplores 
that many other demands on his time 
prevent him from making the magazine 
wholly worthy of the support it has re- 
ceived; but let it be said to the credit of 
humanity that among the thousands of 
letters received from subscribers not one 
but has had some word of praise unmarred 
by the thorn of fault-finding. 

Surely this is a cause for thanksgiving, 
if for no other than purely altruistic 
reasons, and very heartily do we express 
our gratitude to the correspondents, one 
and all, who have so materially lightened 
the editorial burden and brightened the 
editorial way. 


are 


IN response to our request numerous 
suggestions have been received in regard 
to the family of birds which shall be figured 
when the Flycatchers are completed. 
Some correspondents ask for colored plates 
of the Shore Birds some select the Vireos, 
some the Wrens, while the greater num- 


Bird - 


Lore 


ber have chosen the Sparrows. One 
writer makes the excellent suggestion that 
as much time would be required to com- 
plete the series of Sparrow pictures it 
might be advisable to figure the species of 
a smaller family first and names the Wrens 
as his preference if such a plan be adopted, 
and we see no reason why it should not be. 
In the meantime, the processes of repro- 
duction in color are being improved, and 
any delay should be accompanied by 
better results. The Sparrows are a far more 
difficult group to figure than the Warblers. 
In the latter, large masses of simple colors 
prevail. In the former, there is greater 
variety both of color and of pattern which 
only the best process can reproduce satis- 
factorily. 


Is it due to the greatly increased in- 
terest in birds that the Eagles on the new 
ten- and twenty-dollar gold-pieces have 
met with so much criticism ? Twenty years 
ago, we imagine, these coins might have 
appeared without occasioning more com- 
ment than has been aroused by other mint- 
born birds, whereas now the correctness 
or inaccuracy of the Eagles depicted upon 
them is one of the questions of the day, 
and the professional ornithologist is asked 
to decide controversies in regard to this 
point or that. 

From a purely ornithological point of 
view both birds are incorrect in pose and 
in numerous details of structure, but St. 
Gaudens was not illustrating a text-book, 
and although he permitted himself to 
come nearer a real Eagle than, as far as 
we are aware, any other designer of an 
American coin, he took those liberties 
which art warrants and the result should 
no more be subjected to technical criti- 
cism than should the so-called ‘wing’ of 
an angel. It is a question of art, not of 
ornithology. 


Mr. Henry Oldys, of the Bureau of Bio- 
logical Survey, reports the capture at Man- 
ahawkin Bay, New Jersey, of a Canvasback 
Duck with a band on its leg marked ‘‘T. J. 
O. D. 48.” He would be glad to hear from 
any one who knows of this bird’s history. 


: 


The Audubon Docieties 


SCHOOL DEPARTMENT 


Edited by MABEL OSGOOD WRIGHT 


Address all communications to the Editor of the School Department, National 
Association of Audubon Societies, 141 Broadway, New York City 


FEBRUARY HINTS 


F the ground is snow-covered in February, you will probably be troubled 
| in your walks and watching of birds for the glare and reflection of light, 

for not without cause did the Red Men call February the ‘‘month of snow- 
blindness.” A very simple device may be added to the field- or opera-glass that 
will give both relief from the glare and added keenness to the vision, thus: 
From strong, yet flexible cardboard make a pair of tubes of a size that will fit 
closely over the large end of the glasses and project about three inches beyond 
the frames; line these tubes smoothly with unglazed black paper,—that which 
comes wrapped about photograph plates will do nicely. These tubes cut off 
the side light and prevent cross reflection upon the lenses, and have somewhat 
the same effect upon the eye as the ‘stopping down’ of a photographic lens has 
upon the sensitive plate—greater clearness and accuracy of detail. Nor is the 
value of the contrivance confined to winter alone, for it is equally useful when 
looking at birds across water or against the light, as one must do sometimes, 
or lose the view of a rare species. Those who find these tubes satisfactory may 
have them duplicated in leather so that they will form part of the permanent 
field-going equipment. 


This last calendar month of the winter that never really ends until the spring 
equinox of March 21, is an excellent time for doing a little technical bird study. 
If the student only knows half a dozen birds, such as the Robin, Barn Swallow, 
Crow, English Sparrow, domestic Pigeon and one of ‘the common Woodpeckers, 
he has the framework for studying the differences of the six families to which they 
belong, by the aid of books and pictures, even if mounted museum specimens 
are not within reach, and in this way he will be less puzzled in naming new- 
comers. Plumage varies more or less in many species according to season, 
but general build, the shape of beak and claws and the conformation of the 
tail remains the same the year through. 


If you have not already put up nesting-boxes do it now or your labor is likely 
to be in vain, except in the case of the Wrens who ask no questions and will cheer- 
fully adapt to their needs a home large enough for an Owl by cramming it full 
of twigs and/then squeezing their nest into one corner. The Wren is a most 
comfortable bird in spite of its restlessness and quick temper, for it has no tra- 


(45) 


46 


dition in the matter of architecture. An old shoe, a mitten, a torn hat, a skull, 
or a neat house with piazza and overhanging eaves are all the same to it. With 
other birds the case is different and the imitation fence-post or hollow limb 
must be in place before the first Bluebird, Tree Swallow or Chickadee thinks 
of mating, while I firmly believe that the Woodpeckers and Screech Owls engage 


Bird- Lore 


their quarters the fall before and occupy them on winter nights.—M. O. W. 


Entangled in the Burdock 


The following verses, by one of America’s best-known poets, were inspired by the 
photograph of a Goldfinch which lost its life by becoming entangled in a burdock, 


which appeared in Brrp-Lore for December, 1906. 


PIPE ROS STS 
Se a a 


a 


fe 


LA 


MERICAN GOLDFINCH ENTANGLED 
IN BURDOCK 
Photograph by B.S. Bowdish 


How could’st thou, O my Mother, 
To whom we all belong, 

Betray our little brother 
Who had the wings and song? 


For Nature’s self betrayed him, 
And did with food entice; 
And none there was to aid him 

To slip the thorny vise. 


The golden wild Canary— 
The child of light and air— 

Blithe-hearted, sank, unwary, 
Upon the burdock’s snare! 


And there he strove and fluttered 
Through all the long, bright day; 
And many a wild cry uttered 
Ere Life took flight away! 


At last (oh, piteous thing!— 
It is for this I weep), 

With head beneath his wing, 
He tried to go to sleep! 


How could’st thou, Nature—Mother, 
To whom we all belong— 
Betray our little brother 
Who had the wings and song? 
—EpitH M. THomas. 


HORSFAL iL 


BRuce 
- 1908 


SNOWFLAKE 


Family—FRINGILLIDA 
Species--NivaA.is 


Order—PassERES 


Genus—PASSERINA 


(ONE-HALF NATURAL SIZE) 


THE SNOWFLAKE 


By MABEL OSGOOD WRIGHT 


Che Mational Association of Audubon Societies 


EDUCATIONAL LEAFLET NO. 30 


No matter what the weather may have been in December and January, 
February is sure to be a month wherein winter rings all the changes from 
soft days, rain, sleet storms to deep, trackless, obliterating snows. If the winter 
has been clement and open at the beginning, the insect-eating, resident birds— 
Nuthatches, Woodpeckers, Chickadees, etc.,—will be numerous, but if February 
lives up to its reputation of 


““When the days begin to lengthen, 
The cold begins to strengthen,” 


we must rely upon the brave seed-eating birds to be our companions until 
the first courageous spring migrants appear. 
All winter we have had with us members of the family of 
His Kindred J ringillide or Finches and Sparrows that have either come 
in lingering flocks or merely as birds of passage: the Goldfinch 
in his sober winter dress, the stocky Purple Finch, the handsome White-throated 
Sparrow, the sociable Tree Sparrow or Winter Chippy, chiefly distinguishable 
by its larger size from the gentle little summer resident of the hair-lined nest; 
the Slate-colored Junco, trim of figure, dressed in clear gray, with sleek white 
vest and identifying light beak. In addition to these have come perhaps, 
if cone-bearing trees are near, a mixed flock of American and White-winged 
Crossbills—those strange birds of varied red plumage, beaks crossed at the 
tips, and clear metallic call notes. 

In spring we may predict with reasonable accuracy the coming of the birds 
that are summer residents, as well as the time of passage of the migrants that 
nest further north, but the comings and goings of the winter birds are fraught 
with entire uncertainty. Several days will pass when my lunch-counter in the 
old apple tree, with its sloping roof of old wood that keeps off wet, will be without 
a single visitor; then, without rhyme or reason, the birds will swarm about it like 
bees about buckwheat,—birds of all sizes, from the Blue Jay to the merry little 
Kinglets. Weather, rather than individual will, seems to be the guide and motive 
power of the winter birds, and this weather influence works in a wholly dif- 
ferent way in winter than in spring. Fair weather draws the birds of spring 
to us, but it is to the storm-clouds and fierce winds of north and east that we 
owe a glimpse of the rarer winter birds that make their summer homes in 
arctic regions. 


(47) 


48 Bird- Lore 


Five birds of the north there are that I never expect to see 

His Season during an open winter—the Snow Owl, Pine Grosbeak, Red- 

poll, the rare Lapland Longspur who leaves the print of his 

long hind toe in the snow to tell of his coming, and the Snowflake,—all but the 

Owl belonging to the great family of Finches and Sparrows. When these birds 

appear we may know that even if we have had but a light snowfall, there have 

been great Arctic storms that have passed off perhaps seaward, scattering the 
birds before their fury. : 

Of all these birds of the wind, the Snowflake is the most winning, allowing 
us to come near him as he feeds, and venturing close to our houses, barnyards 
and hayricks in search of food, sometimes to the very doorstep itself where, 
a few years ago, I saw a small flock of seven feasting upon the waste seeds that 
had been thrown out from the Canary’s cage 

Few birds have more appropriate and descriptive names than this, who was 
beforetimes called the Snow Bunting, and in the minds of poets and many others 
confused with the Gray Snow Bunting, now called the Slate-colored Junco by 
the Wise Men to stop confusion, as the Junco has kindred in the West and 
South. 

After the snowfall has ceased and we look across the open toward the wooded 
strips to see the fanciful shapes the trees have taken, a slight motion draws the 
eye toward a protected hollow where the bent and broken stalks of mullein, rag- 
weed and wild sunflowers still hold their own above the snow. 

What is it,—brown leaves drifting about? Impossible! The only uncovered 
leaves are those few that cling dry and rustling to the young beeches and oaks, 
refusing to let go until the swelling buds of March actually break, their grip. 

Work your way carefully toward the nearest shelter, field- or opera-glass 
in hand, and you will see not leaves, but a flock of plump, compactly built birds, 
a little larger than the familiar English Sparrow. At first you will have diff- 
culty in separating them from the snow for they are all white underneath and 
have much white on the neck, head, wings and tail. Such colors as the Snowflake 
wears, is, when seen close, a deep rust-color, but it isso mixed with the white 
that at a short distance the plumage takes on all the dead-leaf hues of fawn 
and russet, as if the birds were themselves animated leaves frolicking with the 
blowing snow. When they take to wing they give a sharp call note somewhat 
like the second syllable of the call of the Scarlet Tanager. This is the Snow- 
flake’s winter dress; in summer he wears clear black and white. 

The Snowflake is a summer resident of the Arctic Circle from which, in its 
winter travels, it visits Europe and eastern Asia as well as the United States, 

and may therefore be classed with the small group of circum- 
His Country polar birds. They therefore nest in the extreme north where 

the tree growth is so stunted that the region is called “the Land 
of Little Sticks.”” In winter it is to be found throughout New England and 
irregularly in the middle states. 


The Snowflake 49 


The Snowflake belongs to the ground-loving portion of its 

His Nest tribe, if such a distinction is allowable. Not only does it nest 

_on the ground, but as far as we may judge from its winter habits, 

spends most of its time there when not in flight. I doubt if it even roosts in trees, 

for those that I have seen hereabouts took shelter after feeding, either in a brush- 

heap or in the edges of a corn-stack which always affords shelter for birds that 
prefer to squat rather than perch, at least in winter. 

The Longspur clings to the ground in this same way, and the Horned Lark 
also, and we can easily see that it would be a matter of heredity in species that 
are natives of countries offering such poor perching accommodations in the 
matter of trees. 

Dr. Coues thus describes the nest: ‘““The few nests of the Snowflake that 
I have seen were built with a great quantity of a kind of short curly grass which 
grows in the Arctic regions, mixed with moss, the whole forming a very sub- 
stantial structure, with walls an inch or more thick, and a small, deep cavity. 
This is warmly lined with a quantity of large feathers from some water-fowl. 
They are built on the ground, often covered and hidden by tussocks of grass 
or even slabs of rock. The eggs are exceedingly variable in color as well as size. 

The ground is white or whitish, sometimes flecked all over with 
The Eggs neutral tint shell-markings overlaid by deep brown spots. 

In other cases, we have a heavy wreath of dull brown blotches 
around the larger end. Those who have seen the Snowflake at home in summer 
speak highly of its vocal ability, and have also a good word for the fidelity of the 
bright bird to its mate and its young.” 

To us who may only see the Snowflake in its wanderings, its chief interest 
and importance is that its coming brings a bit of novelty to the winter landscape, 
and that it is one of the most furtive of the great tribe of Weed Warriors that, 
through the very necessities of its existence, consumes vast numbers of 
weed seeds before the growing seasons quickens them to life. The careless land- 
owner for the lack of a few days or even hours spent with a scythe in his pasture 
and old fields, invites the company of weeds that will not only choke his crops 
but rob the very soil of its fertility. Then comes winter, and while the man 
withdraws into his house, and in storms goes out only to feed the cattle, the 
band of feathered workers that are a great part of Nature’s scheme of economics, 
silently appear, and without confusion fall to their allotted tasks: The Cross- 
bills and Pine Grosbeaks, through their feeding, to plant evergreen forests; 
the Waxwings to establish the pointed cedars on bare hillsides, drape the by- 
ways with bittersweet and mesh the thickets with catbriar; the Myrtle Warblers 

to spread the persistent greenery of the bayberry, together with 
His Food many other berry-bearing bushes; while the gentle Snowflakes 

in the hollows, always keeping close to the ground, glean from 
the broken weed-stalks that have been overlooked by their kinsmen in the earlier 
season of plenty. 


50 Bird - Lore 


In addition to this seed food, the Snowflake is known to eat the larve of 
small insects and minute shell-fish that attach themselves to the leaves of water 
plants and rushes (upon the seeds of which they also feed), so that there is reason 
in this varied diet for the usual plump appearance of the bird. 

Surely, if any bird could be expected to receive hospitable treatment at human 
hands, one would think it would be given to these brave children of frost and 
snow, the Snowflake and Slate-colored Junco, yet myriads of these have fallen 
into the snares of the trappers for the sake of the mere mouth- 
ful of meat they furnish. Nuttall tells of the way in which they 
were shot every winter on their return to the Scottish Highlands, 
their compact manner of flight making them easy marks for the fowler; while in 
other countries of Europe they were systematically caught in traps, when, after 
being kept and fed upon millet until they had recovered from the fatigue of 
their long flight, they became in flesh and flavor the rivals of the famous Ortolon. 
A man from our own hill country who was a boy twenty years ago, told me 
a few days since, as we stood watching the Juncos picking up mill-sweepings 
from under my feeding-tree, that ‘‘at home we always used to catch lots of those 
Gray Snowbirds every winter, in a box-trap. Good eating they were too—’bout 
as sweet and tasty as Reed-birds (Bobolink). T’would be a poor winter we boys 
didn’t get a couple o’ hundred on em. Since the blizzard year (1888) they sort 
o’ shied off, and now that the law has set plump down on every sort o’ snarin, 
the country fellers either has to take bad risks or do with pork meat in winter. 
No more Partridge runs and rabbit falls, and gray squirrels can sas yer and 
fire acorns at yer all they like after December and yer can’t shoot back!” 

It was a new idea to me, this recent snaring of the welcome winter birds that 
so many of us labor to protect. Alack! behind them the sweep of the blast to which 
so many succumb from exhaustion, with the haven of food and promised shelter 
sometimes leading to a trap, how much greater must be the vital power of Nature 
than all the inventions of man, or else there would be no more Juncos or Snow- 
flakes to fall from the very storm-clouds themselves and beg our hospitality. 


Destruction of 
Snowflakes 


SNOWBIRDS 
Along the narrow, sandy height Nearer and nearer still they sway, 
I watch them swiftly come and go, And scatter in a circled sweep, 
Or round the leafless wood, Rush down without a sound: 
Like flurries of wind-driven snow, And now I see them peer and peep 
Revolving in perpetual flight,— Across yon level bleak and gray, 


A changing multitude. Searching the frozen ground. 


Until a little wind upheaves 
And makes a sudden rustling there, 
And then they drop their play, 
Flash up into the sunless air, 
And, like a flight of silver leaves, 
Swirl round and sweep away. 
—ARCHIBALD LAMPMAN. 


The Audubon BDocieties 
EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT 


Edited by WILLIAM DUTCHER 


Address all correspondence, and send all remittances for dues and contributions, to 
the National Association of Audubon Societies, 141 Broadway, New York City 


DIRECTORY OF THE STATE AUDUBON SOCIETIES 


With names and addresses of their Secretaries 


Membership in the National Association 


$5.00 paid annually constitutes a person a Sustaining 
Member 
$100.00 paid at one time constitutes a Life Membership 
$1,000 00 paid constitutes a person a Patron 
$5,000.00 paid constitutes a person a Founder 
$25,000.00 paid constitutes a person a Benefactor 


FORM OF BEQUEST 


I do hereby give and bequeath to THE 
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF AUDUBON So- 
CIETIES FOR THE PROTECTION OF WILD 
BirpDs AND ANIMALS (Incorporated), of 
the City of New York. 


FERNAND ANAT Se ene cra ores ose os Sie by ea aTkeossin eerste Stead Ais Blaceoie ap patties eralete pists wrakbie olsioners' oa H. L. Smiru, Montgomery. 
WPI ONT Arrieta toe ars clo aieis.c.o nie pajsieve sie Gates = aise a a icin ae nesting omaniods sled cines W. Scott Way, Box 62, Glendora. 
“CUET GG ah ba O Ae ete CBE EE Ee one Bo cea Eee Mrs. MARTHA A. SHUTE, Capitol Building, Denver. 
BS TEA EA CEACU Ear tc atmo so Sota oie ta was mal cisiais dis wt ol uinrs wcjersraicio metre alereie Mrs. WILLIAM BROWN GLOVER, Fairfield. 
IDEA ALE coh eisnn acess lisa Secs ret aecisvnon aes eee Mrs. Wo. S. HILves, Delamore Place, Wilmington. 
Mie Ericte Oly GOI Dla ties coda 's(o-cisecisie sie ici Sureie se wre bee locinewews Miss HELEN P. CHILDs, Chevy Chase, Md. 
LOVETT Zoo. Sq ogee de Goa SneolOO CUOUGIECOA DOR aaa Dare Hon dec eACHaS TAperapD Mrs. I. VANDERPOOL, Maitland. 
Mees ree eR tec ayo = ora alia atahenrs Oa owe clols et ahs velsiciele Sale ets oc ete eialevere Se wiewtiaeee eauleda MARTIN VY. CALVIN, Augusta. 
RENESES SPST Phen iis Ons winstere thine Sue nan Seine siden ae Miss MARY DRUMMOND, 208 West street, Wheaton, 
AMONESEENEN Steve crates arcre crue ote nicks wo oretste ore’ Gtvete Sieisicinewe eres FLORENCE A. Howek, 2043 Hillside Ave., Indianapolis. 
Besa N totes is ors oie oisiciclo wit etereiafa wate e didtara 1a dleideveieree Mrs. WILLIAM F. PARROTT, 302 Franklin St., Waterloo, 
emery. cc ichcn cs es ac-c' Bs ta sNUNSS cree oa Se ol maaan a Sinon owe t Miss Ei La KERR, Campbellsville. 
WMI aria ete fey ce cio sia Poach ct o cain cis evind a'eleadervele. Miss ANITA PRING, 1682 Peters Ave., New Orleans, 
PRTC eee eis con sa maeinie elseiste tgistiaslo,e alow ce alow me alearunets ARTHUR H. Norton, 22 E]m St., Portland, 
1 Tes | ye Ae aa a ee Miss MINNA D. STARR, 2400 N. Charles St., Baltimore. 
Massachusetts ............. Miss JEsSIE E. KIMBALL, care Boston Society of Natural History, Boston. 
RIV ELGGISTEE ERED arco re erates fave aio lave Gr aleiaia ciel arcial acclerere’ce cum) siare'e.aieia crate JEFFERSON BUTLER, 411 Moffat Block, Detroit. 
MMerTRe HO tele ate nn clots Sie laroniate cic eciiaesla siascanes ae eelaccns Miss JESSIE WHITMAN, 2356 Bayless Ave., St. Paul. 
IPMS TERED ci alale Treats ces cae eels le wie wie Gicieiese. dlovwieie 6, arsyala\Sraloalearanlne Site aae ar asneuene ANDREW ALLISON, Ellisville. 
INTE YE PaT postage eee aD a a ee AUGUST REESE, 2516 North Fourteenth street, St. Louis. 
PM RSL ARMAS oes gasste sce tcvere iat ahoce Wate, Os:8: 0! olnsa.se ohaveiaiavareis(o's eee os Miss Joy HIGGINS, 544 South zoth street, Omaha. 
PR CUBED AITITIS DIL ©, 5.50) rere Savas cisinsic a Salen e. 6 50 bolo laratanjers Cine ops tavern ce eue Mrs. F. W. BATCHELDER, Manchester. 
PR CU OR SO ae eyoheta cise pitinrers wale cele tect cleide ssciears Miss JULIA S. SCRIBNER, 510 E. Front street, Plainfield. 
ER COMB NG OOD Ieee tech std arccata ats ots eiaize ele isis cysicl aiocaims] oinie sneveiS Siete Dafeuteve’s Miss EMMA H. Lockwoob, Scarborough. 
EM EWEERYNS FAN OLLIE he o)ei5 stave oa) tas, of re atiela a Del ole alle Se ease lesals ele oa waiiaewsla eae 6 T. GILBERT PEARSON, Greensboro, 
Morelia k Ofer: 2 .\ccersaiscieiewes chine tcee eo seanbiee cle Mrs. A, G. LEONARD, 897 Belmont Ave., Grand Forks. 
RUSTE rar ecinae wicisie shale Gislerale ig sine sielein aleeaie & aca Miss KATHERINE RATTERMANN, 5Io York street, Cincinnati. 
MBM Seas corneas te oie win aie mans eacia debe teydavam arate wioiotelal date «ales meeieiee Saas Salee ees Miss ALMA CARSON, Guthrie. 
(OTE WEAN GROOOE AEE SRF Snort ae aparece Dr. EMMA J. WELTY, 321 Montgomery street, Portland. 
Pennsylvania................ Miss ELIZABETH WILSON FISHER, Room 22, 524 Walnut St., Philadelphia. 
MMe AERP PENS VIVA Iai ons aciss4 sisi see ove ow dais erie clateiclac sive veel oleuls maxionee G. B. MAson, Edgewood Park. 
Mtn ce rsa occa ooacis cuts a tootedecet ccs hase Mrs. HENRY T. GRANT, 187 Bowen street, Providence, 
PRUNES ALOUD RAR ec yercstc re Sa ae ctevcre ba ws wnaoyuiatn Stale aed «sie alstsjaie oa oleae Wicle-Skia seek nee JAMES HEnry RICE, Columbia, 
(Ti. TOE USSG. SR ees pester, Soe ear ene ee ea rN Sones i ean od, a GEORGE A. PETTIGREW, Sioux Falls. 
TASC CC ECHO ACIS ESTP Od ERS crt a ee aie ee gn Di Se aa Mrs. C. C. Connor, Ripley. 
LUTE ie SOD ao FIBRIN Bo DOR TODO DOCS ror tps MEE aM Ir a wie Ne ae mee nen Seat me .. M. B. Davis, Waco. 
VITISSS C101 SRE Si i aT ee ll Miss DELIA I. GRIFFIN, Museum Natural History, St. Johnsbury. 
\EITETOG, 2 SERS AIG CN CIE HOMIE I TCINO SIT eI n Re cere AI nan eget ef E. C. HouGu, Falls Church. 
BURA PRIEAEPC ORM eer cterw oeiters sy ars, ata eit aia ale aimiataisinuns afSielee sreietclate cele a site H. RIeEF, 48 Maynard Building, Seattle. 
WWVHSCOMISIN  eisecins sa sccis sts veeisleeasstales as Mrs. REUBEN G. THWAITES, 260 Langdon street, Madison. 
NOW ESOOULIR Dons! © acta ctataicleevie cle)a aie ivitis ease siecle ole fe Sievers aigiwisis\ereiwie een bevels Mrs. CORDELIA CHIVINGTON, Loveland. 


Proposed Legislative Work in 1908 


MassaAcuuseEtts.—A bill has already 
been prepared to make the closed season 
for Ducks, Geese, Brant and Swan and the 
Shore Birds to commence January first. It 
will be introduced in the name of the Mas- 
sachusetts Audubon Society. A similar bill 
will be introduced in the Rhode Island 
Legislature by the Audubon Society of 
that state. The field agent and lecturer 
of the National Association, Mr. Edward 
Howe Forbush, has these important bills 
in charge and he has already done a large 
amount of preliminary work by lectures, 
interviews and through the press. He 


52 Bird - Lore 


reports a healthy and growing sentiment 
in favor of this important movement. All 
citizens of Massachusetts and Rhode 
Island, irrespective of whether they are 
members of the Audubon Societies or not, 
should give all their influence and support 
to these bills. The time has arrived when 
prompt and drastic action must be taken 
to preserve the water-fowl and shore birds, 
else they are doomed to a sure and rapid 
extermination. The true sportsmen of 
these two states should work for the pas- 
sage of the bills in the most aggressive 
manner in order to counteract the efforts 
of those shooters who still selfishly desire 
to kill water-fowl and shore birds when 
they are on the northward migration to 
the breeding grounds. One of the basic 
principles of the National Association is 
is “No Spring Shooting.’’ Let this be the 
rallying cry and success for the bills is 
assured. 


New Yorx.—Among the many admir- 
able recommendations in Governor 
Hughes’ message to the 1908 Legislature, 
none was of greater importance than that 
referring to game laws. “I recommend 
that the Forest, Fish and Game law be care- 
fully revised,’’ and “‘I recommend the 
enactment of a License Law.”’ The present 
game law of the state is a mass of contra- 
dictory sections and this Association has 
strongly advised their revision. This, how- 
ever, cannot be done in a satisfactory 
manner unless the advice and scientific 
knowledge of an ornithologist and mamma- 
logist is secured. The executive officers 
of the National Association will watch with 
interest the results of the important sug- 
gestions of Governor Hughes and will be 
prepared to use all of its influence to fur- 
ther the passage of a revised game law and 
and also a license law. The New York 
Audubon Society will likewise take active 
measures to procure such desirable im- 
provements for bird and animal protec- 
tion. 


New JERSEY.—A number of important 
conferences have already been held in 
this state for the ‘purpose of formulating 


plans for the passage of an anti-spring 
shooting law. Readers of Brirbd-LORE 
will recall the unsuccessful attempt made 
in the Legislature of 1907. This year the 
organization backing the proposed bill is 
much stronger than it was last year, 
further, there is a growing public senti- 
ment in favor of the abolition of spring 
shooting. The Affiliated Sportsmen’s 
Clubs, the Audubon Society and the La 
Rue Holmes Nature Lovers League will 
all do yeoman’s service to secure’ up- 
to-date game laws in-New Jersey to re- 
place the farcical statutes now in force. 


MARYLAND.—There is a_ probability 
that some necessary changes in the game 
laws of this state will be attempted at the 
present session of the Legislature, but the 
plans are not yet advanced far enough to 
report on. 


OxLaAHomA.—In this new state the 
model ‘law has been introduced in the 
Legislature, which is now holding its first 
session. It is House Bill No. 93. It is being 
pushed in the most energetic manner and 
will undoubtedly become a law, as there 
is a strong sentiment in the state for the 
protection of birds. Bills to establish a 
state warden-system, hunting licenses, 
close seasons, etc., have also been intro- 
duced and are receiving deserved support. 
The citizens of the youngest of the sister- 
hood of states evidently propose to start 
out right in the matter of bird and game 
protection. 


Across the Border 


The Prince Edward Island Fish and 
Game Protection Association is doing 
excellent work and is rapidly growing in 
size. Their last quarterly report indicates 
that the Ruffed Grouse which was nearly 
extinct”? is becoming quite numerous as a 
result of special protection for two years. 
“Posters were put up through the province 
cautioning people against killing Part- 
ridge and offering a reward for informa- 
tion leading to the conviction of any person 
violating the Game Act.” The following 
is of special interest. ‘‘The work the 


The Audubon Societies 53 


Association is accomplishing has attracted 
the attention of protectionists in the United 
States and is being watched with keen 
interest. The National Association of 
Audubon Societies in the United States 
has presented the secretary with forty-four 
valuable colored lantern-slides, illustrative 
of bird life, to assist him in his work of edu- 
cating the people as to the economic value 
of the birds, and in showing the import- 
ance of strictly protecting these tireless 
aids of the farmer. 

“The whole country is awakening to 
the vast importance of this branch of the 
Association’s work. Four districts have 
already asked us to send down the secre- 
tary to lecture on this subject, offering to 
provide the hall and do all the advertising 
free of charge.” 


Big Game Protection in Texas 


State Game Warden Lorance recently 
arrested for killing antelope three per- 
sons who plead guilty and were fined. 
This is the first case ever recorded in the 
state for killing antelope, although it has 
been unlawful for the past fifteen years 
to kill them. This is one of the results of 
the long and expensive campaign con- 
ducted by the Texas Audubon Society, 
which was financed by the National Asso- 
ciation, in the Legislature in 1907 for the 
establishment of the state game-warden 
system. When this new Commission gets 
thoroughly organized, it is confidently ex- 
pected that the illegal shipment of water 
fowl from Texas to northern and eastern 
markets will be prevented. 


Two New Audubon Societies 


Within the past three months Audubon 
Societies have been organized in Mississ- 
ippi and Alabama. The former through 
the efforts of our field agent, Mr. Kop- 
man, and the latter by the joint work of 
Game Commissioner Wallace and Mr. E. 
G. Holt, who was elected its first presi- 
dent. Aggressive work is proposed by both 
of these new organizations, especially along 
educational lines. Mr. Andrew Allison, 


secretary of the Mississippi Society writes 
concerning its organization as follows: 

“The Mississippi Audubon Society was 
organized in Jackson, Mississippi, on 
November g, 1907, as a result of faithful 
work on the part of the National Associa- 
tion’s special agent, Mr. H. H. Kopman. 
The attendance at this initial meeting was 
not large, but the important classes in 
bird-protection work were all represented 
—women, farmers, sportsmen, teachers 
and lovers of birds just because they are 
birds. Addresses were made by Prof. T. 
Gilbert Pearson, Secretary of the National 
Association; Prof. Geo. E. Beyer, of Tu- 
lane University, New Orleans; Mr. H. H. . 
Kopman, and others. The officers elected 
are: Col. T. M. Henry, President; Dr. W. 
H. La Prade, Vice-President; Andrew 
Allison, Secretary, and Miss Frances Park, 
Treasurer. “Being delayed beyond the 
proper number of Brrp-Lore for reports, 
this brief sketch is somewhat unofficial, 
and statistics are not in order; but I must 
not omit to mention the excellent showing 
made by the public school of Ellisville, 
which turned in a membership roll of over 
one hundred children and nine teachers; 
very far surpassing any other school sys- 
tem in the state, and proudly carrying off 
the highest award donated for the purpose 
by the National Association; two recent 
and excellent bird books. The State Super- 
intendent of Education, Mr. J. N. Powers, 
is a charter member, and promises his 
hearty co6peration in pushing the work 
in the schools. 

“There is much to be done, for a promi- 
nent ornithologist has called our state ‘one 
of the best neglected’; but progress is 
visible, and we hope to report fair results 
at the conclusion of our first year.” 


Another Audubon Patrol Boat 


In the annual report for 1906, BirRp- 
Lore, volume VII, page 336, our field 
agent and lecturer, Mr. Finley, gave a 
graphic account of the wonderful bird life 
on Klamath lake, Oregon. Such large 
numbers of Grebes, Gulls, Terns, Cormo- 
rants and Pelicans breed, and the lake is 


54 Bird - Lore 


such a resort for Ducks and other species 
of birds, that, in order to give the most 
efficient protection, it was found necessary 
to furnish the warden, Mont. E. Hutchi- 
son, with a power boat, to enable him to 
patrol the lake and thus prevent theislaugh- 
ter of the non-game birds at any time 
and the Ducks and other game birds dur- 
ing the closed season. The man behind 
the gun and his companion ‘“‘ Towser”’ are 
always on duty when the lake is free from 
ice and they are the means of saving thou- 
sands of birds that would otherwise be 
sacrificed, some for millinery ornaments 
and others from market shooters. 


Valuable Club Work 


The first annual report of the Committee 
on Bird Protection of the Forest and Field 
Club of Belmont, Massachusetts, is given 
below. The results secured are so very 
excellent that the plan is recommended 
highly for adoption by field clubs and 
village improvement societies in all parts 
of the country. It is astonishing how 
many valuable birds can be saved by the 


ete 1 atl 


ms 


t 
: 


‘GREBE’ AUDUBON PATROL 


BOAT NO. 5 


work of a few unselfish and _ public- 
spirited persons who will devote a few 
moments of their spare time to this move- 
ment: 

‘“‘A new step in bird protection has been 
adopted by the Forest and Field Club of 
Belmont. A committee of three were 
appointed, who were empowered to use 
any money they might raise, as well as 
one-half of the surplus money in the club’s 
treasury, toward the protection of birds 
in Belmont. Every person who owned 
any land in the shooting district was re- 
quested to sign the following paper: ‘I, the 
undersigned, will allow the Forest and 
Field Club of Belmont to post notices pro- 
hibiting shooting and trapping upon my 
grounds, and will allow their game war- 
dens to enforce these orders, on the con- * 
dition that I thereby incur no expense.’ 
As every paper was cheerfully signed, the 
club was empowered to post upwards of 
two square miles of woodland and pastures 
An Italian, interested in bird protection, 
translated the following notice into the 
proper dialect of his native language: ‘No 
shooting or trapping allowed within these 


as 


ob tate: tide! 


WITH WARDEN HUTCHISON 


NO SHOOTING 
OR TRAPPING 


ALLOWED WITHIN THESE GROUNDS 


The penalty for each violation of this 
order is a fine of not more than $20.00. 

Defacing these notices is prohibited by 
law, penalty not more than $25.00. 
55 OO REWARD will be paid for in- 

e formation to the Chief 

Warden of the Forest and Field Club of 
Belmont, which will lead to the arrest of 
any person violating these orders. 


AVVISO 
La Caccia Trappolare 


IN QUESTO LUOGO 
E ASSOLUTAMENTE PROIBITO 


Per ogni caso di violazione di questo 
ordine la massima multa sara di venti 
dollari. 

Distruggere o scancellare questo ordine 
sara punito con massima multa di venti 
cinque dollari. 


La Ricompensa di Cinque Dollari 


e offerta alla persona che dara informa- 
zione al Capo Custode del Forest and Field 
Club di Belmont, che garantira l’arresto di 
chi infringe questo ordine. 


(55) 


56 


grounds. The penalty for each violation 
of this order is a fine of not more than 
twenty dollars. Defacing these notices 
is prohibited by law, penalty not more 
than twenty-five dollars. Five dollars 
reward will be paid for information to the 
Chief Warden of the Forest and Field 
Club of Belmont, which will lead to the 
arrest of any person violating these orders.’ 
One thousand cloth copies of this, printed 
in both English and Italian were pur- 
chased with money which was raised by 
subscription. These were posted over 
the entire shooting district and ten volun- 
teer wardens were appointed to enforce 
them. 

““This method has proved very success- 
ful, so it is hoped other towns will adopt a 
similar plan. Two or three energetic 
persons could post their town likewise in 
two months. This Committee will send 
a sample poster to any person who will 
volunteer to start a similar movement in 
his town. Address all communications 
to Samuel Dowse Robbins, Chairman, 
Lock Box 25, Belmont, Massachusetts.” 


A New Bird Reservation 


The explorations made for the National 
Association of Audubon Societies last 
summer by Mr. H. H. Kopman, on the 
coast of Louisiana ((See Brrp-LoreE IX, 
1907, pages 223-240) having shown that 
East Timbalier Island was the seat of 
large colonies of birds the United States 
government, in response to the request of 
the Association has declared this island 
to be a “Reservation for the protection 
of native birds” as will be seen by the 
map on the following page. 


A Well-protected Public Reservation 


The following letter from Dr. James A. 
Carroll, Superintendent of the Indian 
Reservation at Mescalero, New Mexico, 
shows such an intelligent appreciation of 
the necessity for bird and animal pro- 
tection and such an active enforcement 
of his ideas that it is a pleasure to present 
an outline of his work as he reports it: 


Bird - 


Lore’ 


“T am indeed, quite interested in the 
great work now being conducted by the 
National Association. My interest ex- 
tends even beyond the protection of wild 
birds and animals—to the protection of 
fish as well. And I’ll try to show you that 
this interest is more than a fleeting senti- 
ment or a pretty theory; that I’ve demon- 
strated it in a practical manner. 

‘This reservation embraces an area 
of very nearly 475,000 acres of land. 
‘Tis a mountainous country, heavily 
timbered, fairly well watered, and is a 
natural retreat for the wild life of this 
section. Bear, deer, lions, wolves, cats, 
coyotes, badgers, skunks, squirrels, tur- 
keys, pigeons, ravens, doves, quails and 
innumerable small birds are found here. 
There are two beautiful streams on the 
reservation and these are teeming with 
trout. The edible game I found it neces- 
sary to protect, and I did if in this way: 
I limited the hunting season to two months 
and a half—from November 15 to Feb- 
ruary 1—and kept the Indians’ firearms 
under lock and key the balance of the 
year, and I required employees and others 
to observe this regulation. In this way 
does with young fawns have not been 
killed; nor have turkeys hens been killed, 
leaving broods of young to die. I’ve also 
exercised much care in issuing hunting 
permits to outsiders. As a protection to 
the fish, guards are employed, who patrol 
the streams and admit no one unless 
he presents a permit. These regulations 
have been operative for four years, and 
the increase in game and fish is simply 
wonderful. No effort is made to protect 
those wild animals that are a menace to 
flocks and herds; and, as for such birds as 
are not edible, they are never disturbed.” 


Qualifications Necessary for a Game 
Warden 


One of the recommendations advanced 
by this Association in its last annual report 
was ‘‘Civil Service in the appointment of 
game wardens; they should pass a satis- 
factory examination showing fitness for 
the position.”” What constitutes fitness? 


The Audubon Societies 57 


EAST TIMBALIER ISLAND RESERVATION 


For Protection of Native Birds 


LOUISIANA 


Embracing the Island segregated by broken lines and designated 
“East Timbalier Island Reservation” 


DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 


GENERAL LAND OFFICE 


Richard A. Ballinger, Commissioner 


Diagram attached to and made part of the order dated 
December 7, 1907 


58 Bird - Lore 


The warden should not only be strong 
and in perfect health but must be possessed 
of bravery, for he is frequently in danger, 
especially when trying to arrest aliens. 
Moreover, he should have such an interest 
in nature that he will be lifted above the 
plane of a hired servant and will get some 
of his compensation in the pure enjoyment 
of time spent in the field and woods. 
Political service or affiliations should have 
no weight in the appointment of wardens, 
in fact, when a selection is being made, 
this question should not be asked or con- 
sidered. To be properly qualified, a 
warden should be able to identify all of 
the common birds of his section—the game 
birds as well as the non-game birds. A 
carpenter or bricklayer who knew no 
more of his craft than the ordinary game 
warden of today knows of birds would 
never be able to get work. They must be 
skilled workmen or they are relegated 
to the class of laborers. Why should it be 
otherwise with a game warden? In these 
days of bird books and leaflets, many of 
them profusely and correctly illustrated, 
it should be easy for a warden of ordinary 
intelligence to qualify by passing an exami- 
nation showing that he had a knowledge 
of birds as well as their babits and could 
make correct identifications in the field 
and especially when called upon to give 
expert testimony in courts when the identity 
of birds was in question. Recently, some 
aliens were arrested near Jamaica, New 
York, and a warden was called in to testify 
in the case. He gave the following testi- 
testimony, which shows how well qualified 
he was for the place occupied. Six Hermit 
Thrushes and a couple of Song Sparrows 
had been shot. A police officer testified 
they were ‘Brown Thrushes’. The game 
protector was called as an expert on birds 
and testified that the larger birds were 
“Brown Thrushes”’, sometimes just called 
““Thrushes”’ and that the other birds were 
“Song Sparrows” or ‘‘American Gold- 
finches.” There was an amusing cross 
examination; ‘‘What is the difference 


between a Sparkling (probably Star- 
ling was meant) and a Song Sparrow or 
American Goldfinch.” The warden re- 
plied ‘‘that a Goldfinch went teet-teet-teet; 
while a Sparkling had a different call.” 
One of the judges said they wished to know 
the difference in appearance, to which 
the expert replied, ‘‘ Well, ah, ah, ahem, 
the Goldfinch is like these birds here, 
(pointing to the smaller ones) while the 
Sparkling is a little larger and browner.”’ 

Such a case as the above makes bird 
protection a farce and the work of the 
Audubon Societies doubly hard. Perfect 
service will not be attained until the men 
employed as state game wardens can in- 
inform the inquiring citizen of the name of 
a bird and also what its relations to agri- 
culture and forestry are, and can talk in- 
telligently and interestingly on the subject. 
Such men can be found; one has lately 
been appointed in Connecticut. 


A Wild Turkey Case 


Our field agent, Mr. Kopman, is not 
only educating the public about the value 
of birds, but is demonstrating that the non- 
sale law in Mississippi must not be vio- 
lated. He recently preferred charges 
against a prominent firm of restaura- 
teurs in Jackson for exposing for sale and 
advertising that Wild Turkey would be 
served. At the trial it was impossible to 
prove that the portion served to Mr. 
Kopman was from a wild bird. Judge 
Thompson in acquitting the firm delivered 
the following charge to the defendants: 
“While the evidence is unsufficient to 
warrant a conviction, the phase of the 
case that perplexes me is that a firm of the 
SPOOUMANO NA (OYE Se could afford 
to advertise the selling of anything they 
were not prepared to furnish or to admit 
having furnished.”” Judge Thompson 
further added “‘that the restaurants must 
comply with the game laws, and that they 
should not under any circumstances render 
themselves liable to another affidavit.” 


“If I could give a child but one book this year, it would be this,” 
was said of 


MABEL OSGOOD WRIGHT’S 
(GRAY LADY AND THE BIRDS 


STORIES OF THE The book will be welcomed by adults 
BIRD YEAR almost as heartily as by younger readers. 
FOR SCHOOL For teachers and parents and all who 


believe in bird protection, it provides a 
means of sharing their pleasure in bird life 
with the children just when they will most 
gladly receive it. 


AND HOME 


With thirty-six plates in 
half-tone, and twelve 
It is accurate and, on the scientific side, 
dependable, but it is far more than that; 
it is a fascinating book of stories, a glimpse 


in colors, from studies 
made for the National 


Audubon Association into the riches of poetry and fancy asso- 
under the supervision ciated with feathered things. 

of its President, Decorated cloth, xx + 437 pagés 

Mr. William Dutcher $1.75 net; by mail, $1.90 


By MABEL OSGOOD WRIGHT, author of 
BIRDCRAFT A Field Book of Two Hundred Song, Game 


and Water Birds. With 80 full-page plates 
by Louis AGASSIZ FUERTES. 


Eleventh Edition, xii + 317 pages, 
flexible cloth, rounded corners, $2 net 


and, with Dr. ELLIOTT COUES 
CITIZEN BIRD SCENES FROM BIRD-LIFE IN PLAIN 


ENGLISH FOR BEGINNERS. Profusely 
Illustrated by LOUIS AGASSIZ FUERTES. 


Cr., 8 vo. $1.50 net, postage 1'7 cents 
This was described by C. H. M., in Science, as “by far the best bird book for 


boys and girls yet published in America,” and the statement has remained undisputed 
up to the publication of “Gray Lady and the Birds,” which is by one of its authors. 


THE MACMILLAN COMPANY, Publishers, New York 


Mrs. MABELOSGOOD WRIGHT’S Stories 


'' Fragrant books that unfailingly quicken one’s sense of the 
joy and fineness of beautiful living . . . friendly, savory, 
wholesome and genutine.’’'—BOSTON HERALD. 


AUNT JIMMY’S WILL. ttustrated by FLORENCE SCOVEL SHINN. Cloth. $1.20, 
net. Also in the binding of Every Boy’s and Girl’s Series. Cloth. 75 cents.) 


A story for girls, which should spread the gospel of sunshine in an inspiring way. 


DOGTOWN: Being Some Chapters from the Annals of the > 


Waddles Family. \Ihustrated from photographs by the author. t2mo. 
Cloth, $1.50, net. Postage, 16 cents. Also in the binding of Every Boy’s and 
Girl’s Series. Cloth 75 cents. 


A compiete story by itself, but introducing characters already known to the read- 
ers of ‘‘Tommy-Anne”’ and ‘‘Wabeno.’”’ It is especially a book for dog lovers. 


TOMMY-ANNE AND THE THREE HEARTS. _ititustrated by ALBERT 
BLASHFIELD. Cloth. $1.50 


“‘The child who reads will be charmed while he is instructed, and led on 
to make new discoveries for himself.’’—7he Nation. 


WABENO, THE MAGICIAN. — Fully ittustrated by JOSEPH M. GLEESON. 


Cloth. $1.50 


“A sequel to ‘Tommy-Anne,’ which created something of a sensation in lit- 


erature for children a year ago, by reason of its quaint and bright originality.”’ 
—N. E. Journal of Education. 


THE DREAM FOX STORY BOOK. with 80 dtawings by OLIVER HERFORD. 


Small gato. $1.50, net. Postage, 13 cents 


“Even quainter, queerer and jollier than Mrs. WRIGHT’S omy ee are 
Billy Button’s remarkable, comical, lively adventures, most fitly illustrated by 
Oliver Herford.’’— The Outlook. 


FLOWERS AND FERNS IN THEIR HAUNTS. With illustrations from 


photographs by the author and J. HORACE McFARLAND. New edition uniform 
with the new edition of ‘‘Birdcraft.’? tamo, cloth. $2.00, net. By mail, $2.15. 


A book about the wild flowers written from a new point of view—their relation to 
the landscape. The illustrations are novel and interesting. 


FOUR-FOOTED AMERICANS AND THEIR KIN. Edited by FRANK M, 
CHAPMAN. Illustrated by ERNEST THOMPSON SETON. Cloth. $1.50, net. 
Postage, 16 cents 


‘Books like this are cups of delight to wide-awake and inquisitive: girls and 
boys. Here is a gossipy history of American quadrupeds, bright, entertaining 
and thoroughly instructive.’’— The Independent. 


THE MACMILLAN COMPANY, Publishers, New York 


Among Other Issues in the Two Series of 


THE AMERICAN SPORTSMAN’S LIBRARY | 


EDITED BY CASPAR WHITNEY 


** No books have ever come before us that so completely fill the want of Sportsmen and 
delight the general reader as the volumes in the American Sportsman's Library.” 
— SHOOTING AND FISHING 


THE DEER FAMILY 
By the Hon. THEODORE ROOSEVELT, T. E. VAN DYKE, D G ELLIOTT 
and A. J. STONE 
Illustrated by Carl Rungius and others. With Maps by Dr. C. Hart Merriam 


SALMON AND TROUT 
By DEAN SAGE, W. C. HARRIS, H. M. SMITH and C. H TOWNSEND 
Illustrated by A. B. Frost, Tappan Adney, Martin Justice and others 


UPLAND GAME BIRDS 
By EDWYN SANDYS and T. S. VAN DYKE 
Illustrated by Louis Agassiz Fuertes, A. B. Frost, J. O. Nugent and C. L. Bull 


THE WATER-FOWL FAMILY 
By L. C. SANFORD, L. B. BISHOP and T S. VAN DYKE 
Illustrated by L A. Fuertes, A. B. Frost and C. L. Bull 


BASS, PIKE, PERCH, AND OTHERS 
By JAMES A. HENSHALL, M D 
Illustrated by Martin Justice and Charles F. W Mielatz 


THE BIG GAME FISHES OF THE UNITED STATES 
By CHARLES F. HOLDER 
Illustrated by Charles F. W. Mielatz and others 


MUSK-OX, BISON, SHEEP AND GOAT 
By CASPAR WHITNEY, GEORGE BIRD GRINNELL and OWEN WISTER 
Illustrated by Carl Rungius and others 


GUNS, AMMUNITION AND TACKLE 
THE SHOTGUN, by CAPTAIN A W. MONEY; THE HUNTING RIFLE, 
by HORACE KEPHART; THE THEORY OF RIFLE SHOOTING, 
by W. E. CARLIN; THE PISTOL AND REVOLVER, by A. L A. HIM- 
MELWRIGHT, and THE ARTIFICIAL FLY, by JOHN HARRING- 
TON KEENE 


THE SPORTING DOG 
By JOSEPH A. GRAHAM. Fully illustrated 


PHOTOGRAPHY FOR THE SPORTSMAN NATURALIST 
By L. W. BROWNELL. Fully illustrated from photographs by the author 


IN PREPARATION 


THE BEAR FAMILY 
By DR. C. HART MERRIAM. With many illustrations 


COUGAR, WILD CAT, WOLF AND FOX 


With many illustrations 


Cloth, cr. 8vo, gilt top and cover design. Each, $2 net. Postage, 15c. 


THE MACMILLAN COMPANY, Publishers, New York 


J. HORACE MCFARLAND CO., MT. PLEASANT PRESS, HARRISBURG, PAs 


The Foremost Recent Book on Animals 


By ERNEST INGERSOLL 


LIFE OF ANIMALS: The 


Mammals 


Second Edition, Enlarged. 555 Pages, Octavo. Decorated Cloth. 
250 Illustrations. $2 net; By Mail, $2.24. 


HE idea of the book is to interest the reader in the life of the four-footed 
animals, not in their anatomy, nor in their imaginary sentiments; but in the 
part they daily play in the world around them, rather than in their posi- 

tion in a museum or a scheme of classification. This presentation of the theme has 
met with general approval. The critic of The Independent believes that it “‘contains 
just the information about living and extinct species of mammals, especially those 
most familiar, which the general non-zodlogical reader demands.’’ Putnam’s Montoly 
has declared it ‘‘the best book of its kind which has appeared up to the present 
time.’’ Says the Chicago Post: ‘‘Ernest Ingersoll has for a long while been doing fine 
work . . . ‘The Life of Animals’ is just the book one wishes might be in every 
home where there are children and young people. Mr. Ingersoll has in excellent 
degree the knack of presenting in clear, sympathetic and attractive manner scien- 
tific information, zodlogical and geological, and with it a free mingling of the his- 
torical, the romantic and the adventurous. There is, however, a commendable 
absence of the . . . exaggeration of the human-like qualities in animals.” 

Along with this popularity the scientific accuracy of the book is well recognized, 
and it has been adopted as a book of instruction in colleges. Nowhere else is so 
intelligently traced the relation between the past (fossil history) and the present of 
the families in this most important of all animal tribes; nowhere else will be found 
explained many curious customs, such as the origin of the habit of storing winter 
food, how the opossum came to “‘play ’possum,”’ etc. 


By the same author 


WILD NEIGHBORS: Outdoor Studies in 
the United States 


With numerous photographic illustrations. Cloth, $1.50 


“Such pleasant books as this of Mr. Ingersoll’s are delightful to both old and 


young, and ought to be put into the hands of every lad on the farm.’’—Detroit 
Free Press. 


THE MACMILLAN COMPANY, PUBLISHERS 
NEW YORK 


20c.a C 
MARCH—APRIL, 1908 <1 eee 


EDITED BY 


FRANK M. CHAPMAN 


PuBLISHED FOR THE AUDUBON SOCIETIES 
BY 


The Macmillan Company 


HARRISBURC, PA. 


NEW YORK ; LONDON 


h mb. (DY 
Wel A a Th 


Wird= Lore 


March-April, 1908 


CONTENTS 


GENERAL ARTICLES 5 PAGE 
FRONTISPIECE IN COLOR—!IAMMOND’S, WRIGHT’S, GRAY, BUFF-BREASTED, and 
AVESIS TERING Ril VG AUT CET buR Sine wet rratetel otaiat = Forsiav care rotey ere years Louis Agassiz Fuertes.. 
Tue Home-LIre oF THE AMERICAN EGRET. Illustrated...... Frank M.Chapman.. 59 
DEP BACKGROUND) OF! ORNUDEOTO GM ste tale elects wit owsie cine cites oe Spencer Trotter.. 68 
iam Nasri ram Guar. mills trated yer: secie wae ere eee Gilbert H. Trafton.. 72 
INEAurae MO) COUP NGOs” MW bho eal Socata mosodaaeea Gogocouceaouecs George Shiras, 3d... 7 
THE MIGRATION OF FLYCATCHERS. Third Paper. Illustrated with colored plates 
from drawings by Louis Agassiz Fuertes and Bruce Horsfali ....W.W.Cooke.. 77 
THE Common Names or NortTH AMERICAN BiIRDS...........Edward H. Perkins.. 78 
NOTES FROM) EIRLDWAND (STUDY =).22 5.205 intel 2 - doses hed ee tae area eee rae eae 79 


trated, A. H. Schippang; TRUSTFUL Birps, R. P. Shar ples; THE Most SOUTHERN 
STARLING RECORD, Louis B. Bishop; A BROWN CREEPER’S MISTAKE, Clarence 
M. Arnold; NOTES ON KIRTLAND’S WARBLER, A. D. Tinker; A WINTER ROSE- 
BREASTED GROSBEAK, illustrated, Clarence D. Brown; NOTES ON THE MOURNING 
Dove, A. D. Tinker; A WINTER ROBIN, Percival B. Coffin; NATURE’S REMEDIES, 
R. P. Sharples; OVER-PRODUCTIVE ROBINS, Leander S. Keyser. 


BOOK NE WSVAN DERE ViERIWIS jeicnie is. scien sit ci loses spayed eis elonuctarciea: heya acdsee anes ea eas 84 


MULLENS’ ‘SELBORNE’; BEAL’S, BIRDS OF CALIFORNIA; List OF BIRDS IN THE NEW 
YORK ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY: BEEBE ON THE GEOGRAPHICAL VARIATION OF 
BrirDs; THE WoRK OF THE BIOLOGICAL SURVEY; KEYSER’S OUR BIRD 
CoMRADES; THE ORNITHOLOGICAL MAGAZINES. 


EDETORTAD Hiss opis create tn Stine bonis ere efacs geben Steyr: 6 ciatgane/ SRS Cae ae arate Lae ere 87 


AUDUBON SOCIETIES—SCHOOL DEPARTMENT ...................-.......2.-22-00- 88 
A Goop Examptr, M. O. W. 


EDUCATIONAL LEAFLET NO. 31. Tur Sonc Sparrows with colored plate by Bruce 
VEL ORS PUM sro 5. tose RRs of ER oe eee ERS ae eee Mabel Osgood Wright.. go 


AUDUBON SOCIETIES—EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT.................... 22.20. .2205- 94 


We Neep; A New BirpD RESERVATION; EXECUTIVE ORDER; AN IDEAL GAME 
COMMISSION; ALIEN LICENSE LAW; THE PLUME TRADE; PLUME-HUNTERS IN 
THE SOUDAN; ATTRACTING BIRDS. 


»*xManuscripts intended for publication, books, etc., for review and exchanges, should be 
sent to the Editor, at the American Museum of Natural History, 77th Sireet and 8th Avenue, 
New York City, N. Y. 


SPECIAL NOTICE 


We take the liberty of sending this number of BIRD-LORE 
to subscribers whose subscription expired February 1, 1908, 
in the belief that the matter of renewal has been overlooked. 
On renewal, a copy of the Wild Turkey Plate (see next 
page) will be forwarded. 


Entered as second-class mail matter in the Post Office at Harrisburg, Pa. 


BACK NUMBERS 
OF BIRD-LORE 


E can no longer furnish com- 
\ \ plete sets of BIRD-LORE, but we 
still have on hand some odd 
numbers, in most instances making full 
volumes, which, while they are lacking 
in value from the librarian’s point of 
view, to the bird-student are just as 
useful and just as interesting as they 
were the day of their publication. 


Volumes TVy ViVi. Vil TX, can 
be had entire; Volume II lacks No. 2; 
Volume III lacks Nos. 1 and 2; Volume 
WEL tacks: Noz.r. 


All the numbers included in the 
above statement are offered at a dis- 
count of so per cent—that is ten cents 
per number, to purchasers of ten or 
more numbers. 


To purchasers who desire to secure 
copies of the numbers missing from Vol- 
umes IJ, III and VII, BIRD-LORE offers 
the free use of its advertising columns. 


BIRD-LORE 
HARRISBURG :: PENNSYLVANIA 


INDEX 


BULLETIN OF THE 


NUTTALL ORNITHOLOGICAL CLUB 


VOLUMES I-VIII—1876-1883 


AND TO ITS CONTINUATION 


THE AUK 


VOLUMES I-XVII—1884-1900 


AMERICAN ORNITHOLOGISTS’ UNION 


EDITED BY 


JONATHAN DWIGHT, Jr., M.D. 


NEW YORK 
PUBLISHED BY THE AMERICAN ORNITHOLOGISTS’ UNION 


1907 


;| HE WIDE SCOPE of this index, and its simplicity and convenience 
’4| cannot fail to appeal to everybody who wants to know just what 
has been written about birds in the twenty-five volumes indexed. 
Authors, localities, genera, species, subspecies and many other 
matters are conveniently arranged in a single alphabetical index of 426 pages, 
and among its useful features may be mentioned the fact that every cross- 
reference leads to a single name, and that the vernacular or popular names of 
all North American species are given. 

The volume will fit into a place on the shelves of those who have a com- 
plete set of the BULLETIN and THE AUK, and should also prove an impor- 
tant book of reference for those who wish to know the contents of volumes 
they do not own. 


Price, in paper covers, postpaid, $3.25 net. 
Price, in cloth covers, postpaid, $3.75 net. 


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Bird= Lore 


A BI-MONTHLY MAGAZINE 
DEVOTED TO THE STUDY AND PROTECTION OF BIRDS 


OFFICIAL ORGAN OF THE AUDUBON SOCIETIES 


Vol. X MARCH — APRIL, 1908 No. 2 


The Home-Life of the American Egret 


By FRANK M. CHAPMAN 


With photographs by the author * 


“ GRAVELY THE PARENT STOOD 
REGARDING ITS YOUNG” 


WENTY years have passed 

since I saw in Flor/da my first 

Egret, but I retain a clear-cut 
mental picture of the scene in which 
the bird’s snowy plumage shone against 
a darkly wooded background with 
surprising whiteness. It seemed an 
ethereal creature, too pure for earthly 
existence, a veritable Bird of Paradise. 
Nor has subsequent familiarity in any 
way decreased this impression of a 
certain angelic quality,—due no doubt 
to the dazzling purity of the bird’s 
plumage as well as to the charm of 
its haunts. 

It was the large Egret (Herodias 
egretta) I saw. The Snowy. Egret 
(Egretta candidissima) is a daintier, 
more exquisite bird, but, in nature, 
cannot always be satisfactorily distin- 
guished from the young of the abundant 


Little Blue Heron, while its much smaller size makes it a far less impressive 
figure in the landscape than its stately relative. Furthermore, the Snowy 
Egret’s recurved plumes are more highly prized than the long, straight ‘Aigret- 
tes’ of the larger species, and even twenty years ago, it was a comparatively 
rare bird in Florida. Today it is on the verge of extinction. 

My experiences, therefore, have been with the larger Egret. Long have 
I sought to find it at home under conditions suitable for reproduction in the 


*See, also, Photographs in Brrp-Lore for December, 1907. 


60 } Bird- Lore 


series of ‘Habitat Bird Groups,’ in the American Museum of Natural History. — 
A few nests were discovered here and there, but always, when a rookery (‘heronry’ 
is not used in the South) of promising size was reported, the plume-hunters arrived 
first and word came that the “long whites have all been shot out.” 

Thus year by year the Egrets have decreased in number. I miss thé white 
gleam of their plumage in the dark cypresses and over the brown marshes. With 
them has gone one of the most distinguished figures of the Florida wilds. The 
state, learning the value of the treasure of which she has been robbed, has passed 


aoe 


: . ss ey : vy 
COLLECTING A CYPRESS TREE FOR THE EGRET GROUP IN THE 
AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY 


stringent laws prohibiting the killing of Egrets. So, too, she has passed laws 
against pick-pockets, but just so long as there are pockets worth picking there 
will be some one to pick them, and just so long as Egrets’ plumes are worth their 
weight in gold there will be some one to supply them, until, a passing fancy 
gratified, the last plume has found its way from the bonnet to the ash-barrel. 

Without one promising lead to follow, I had virtually abandoned the Egret 
hunt, when from an unexpected quarter word came of an Egret rookery credi- 
table to the days of Audubon. It appears'that, when a vast territory was acquired 
as a game preserve by a club of sportsmen, it contained a few Egrets, survivors 
of a once flourishing colony. After seven years of rigid protection, they and their 


The Home-Life of the American Egret 61 


progeny form so conspicuous an element of local bird-life that, on the evening 
of May 7, 1907, as I reached the region in which they lived, I saw them in dozens 
flying toward the still distant rookery. 

The return at nightfall of birds to their nests, or to a certain roosting-place, 
is possessed for us of that interest which is attached to all the intelligible actions 
of animals. The knowledge that the creature has a definite plan or purpose 
seems to emphasize our kinship with it. So we mark the homeward flight of 
Heron or of Crow, and, knowing whither they are bound, travel with them in 
fancy to the journey’send. This has been 
a fatal habit for the Herons. It mattered 
little how secluded was the rookery; the 
hunter found it simply by following 
their line of flight. 

My way to the home of the white- 
plumed birds was less direct. For hours 
a little home-made tug, with a swelling 
wave at her bow, took me through a 
succession of bays, canals, cut-offs and 
serpentine creeks, frightening the Galli- 
nules and Blackbirds in the reeds, and 
surprising an occasional alligator on his 
favorite mud bank. ; 

A night’s rest, and in the morning 
the journey was resumed through park- 
like pine forests and under the moss- 
hung live-oaks, with every tree and 
plant by leaf and blossom, and every 
bird by plumage and voice, proclaim- 
ing the sweetness, beauty and joy of 
May. Ten miles of spring’s pageant 
brought me to the moat of the Egrets’ 
stronghold. Here I entered a boat, to 
pass through an apparently endless 
flooded forest. 

There are delights of the water and 
delights of the wood, but when both are = LOUISIANA HERON ON ITS NEST 
combined and one’s canoe-path leads through a forest, and that of cypress clad 
in new lace-like foliage and draped with swaying gray moss, one’s exultation 
of spirit passes all measurable bounds. No snapping of twigs or rustling of 
leaves betrays one. We paddled so easily, so noiselessly, that we seemed as 
much inhabitants of the place as the great alligators that sank at our approach. 

The Fish Hawks whistled plaintively, but settled on their nests as we passed 
below them; the Wood Ducks led their broods to the deeper woods; Pileated 


62 Bird - Lore 


and Red-bellied Woodpeckers, Crested Flycatchers, Tufted Tits and glowing 
Prothonotary Warblers, at home in holes in the cypress; Parula Warblers weay- 
ing their cradles in the Spanish moss,—all accepted us as part of the fauna, 
and it was not until we reached the first dwellings of the rookery that our pres- 
ence caused alarm. 

Here, at the tops of the tallest cypresses, seventy to one hundred feet from 
the water, the Great Blue Herons had built their broad platforms. With pro- 
testing squawks, they stretched their legs, folded their necks and took to the air, 
leaving their nearly fledged young to peer over the edge of the nest at the dis- 
turbing object below. With no less concern, I looked at the disturbing object 
above. If the Egrets had chosen similar nesting sites they could be photog- 
raphed only from a balloon. 


“THEY CAME CAUTIOUSLY TO THE MORE DISTANT BRANCHES” 


Beyond the Great Blue Herons, was a settlement of the singularly marked 
Yellow-crowned Night Herons. Their nests were within fifteen feet of the water, 
but they slipped away, so quietly that only close watching showed them dis- 
appearing through the trees beyond. For two miles we paddled thus in a 
bewildering maze of sunlit, buttressed cypress trunks with shiny, round-headed 
‘knees’ protruding from the water, and with every branch heavily moss-draped. 
The dark waters showed no track, the brown trunks no blaze. We seemed to 
be voyaging into the unknown. 

Finally, the environs were passed and we now approached the most densely 
populated part of the rookery. Thousands of Louisiana and Little Blue Herons 
left their nests in the lower branches and bushes, their croaking chorus of alarm 
punctuated by the louder more raucous squawks of hundreds of Egrets, as they 


The Home-Life of the American Egret 63 


flew from their nests 
in the upper branches. 
It was a confusing and 
fascinating scene, an 
admirable climax to 
the passage through 
the weird forest. 

For .a time, I was 
content to sit quietly 
in the boat and revel in 
the charm and beauty 
of the place, my en- 
joyment unmarred_ by 
the thought that at any 
moment Satan, in the 
guise of a plume- 
hunter, might enter 
this Eden. - 

The Little Blue 
and Louisiana Herons 
nested at an average 
height of six to eight rertowss Sere . 

“FLY TO AND FRO WITH CURVED NECK AND 
feet. One bush held STREAMING PLUMES” 
no less than thirty-two ; 
nests, all of which con- 
tained eggs, few young 
of either species hay- 
ing yet been hatched. 
The Egrets nested at 
an average height of 
forty feet. Eggs were 
in some nests, while in 
others there were 
nearly fledged young. 
While far less shy than 
I had before found 
them, the birds were 
still abundantly wary, 
and obviously could be 
observed to advantage 
only from concealment. 
After some search, a 
group of nests was dis- p A SUDDEN TURN 


64 Bird - Lore 


covered which it was believed could be studied and photographed from a 
neighboring tree, distant some thirty feet. An umbrella blind of pale green 
cloth was therefore placed in the tree at a height of forty-five feet, and liberally 
draped with Spanish moss. It was arranged to fall over a limb which, for 


ny } } ANP ‘ 

a ‘ ‘AA 

EGRET APPROACHING ITS NEST 
The train of closed. plumes reaches several inches beyond the tail. Bill retouched by Bruce Horsfall. 


oe oe ee me... 


several hours during each of the three succeeding days, served as the perch 
from which my notes and photographs were made. I have had more comfort- 
able seats, but few that were so enjoyable. From the concealment of the same 
blind, it had been my fortune to watch Flamingoes, Pelicans and many other 


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66 Bird - Lore 


ground-nesting birds at close range; but never before had I attempted to enter 
a bird colony in the tree tops, and the experience was as exhilarating as it was 
novel. The Little Blue and Louisiana Herons soon returned to their nests below, 
the former noisy and quarrelsome, calling at each other notes which sounded 
strangely like tell you what, tell you what, the latter less demonstrative and more 
quiet. The Egrets did not accept the situation so readily. Seven pairs were 
nesting in the trees near me. Some had eggs, others young birds in various 
stages of development. Flying to and fro, with curved neck and streaming 


REALIZATION— EGRET FEEDING YOUNG 


plumes, the parents inspected the blind for some time before they ventured to 
alight in the home tree. Then they came cautiously to the more distant 
branches, there to remain indefinitely, while uttering a protesting, rapid cuk- 
cuk-cuk with the regularity and persistance of a metronome. Their strong de- 
sire to return to their nest was expressed in an alertness which led them to 
make frequent changes of attitude. In a large series of pictures of waiting birds, 
no two have that wonderfully expressive neck in the same position. It is 
remarkable how the pose of this member affects a Heron’s appearance. 
Doubtless, the young birds were not a little puzzled by the unusual reluctance 
of their parents to administer to their wants. In vain they uttered their frog- 


The Home-Life of the American Egret 67 


like kek-kek-kek, and stretched their necks hopefully. The old birds were not 
assured. So the young resorted to their customary occupations of leg- or wing- 
stretching, or yawning, or preening a brother’s or sister’s feathers, picking at 
imaginary objects here and there, all good exercises for growing birds. The 
larger ones made little journeys to the limbs near the nests, the neck taking a 
different curve with every movement, and expressing every emotion from extreme 
dejection to alert and eager expectancy. Finally, as the old birds were convinced 
that the blind was harmless, their reward came. With harsh, rattling notes 
and raised crest one of the parents alit near the nest. Its superbly threatening 


EGRETS DISPLAYING THEIR PLUMES 
From the Habitat group in the American Museum of Natural History 

attitude was clearly not alarming to the young birds, who welcomed it by voice 
and upstretched, extended neck. Gravely the parent stood regarding its young, 
while its crest dropped and its pose relaxed. Then, as it stepped to the edge of 
the nest, it lowered its head, when its bill was immediately seized by one of the 
youngsters. The young bird did not thrust its bill down the parental throat, 
nor was the parent’s bill introduced into that of its offspring. The hold of the 
young bird was such as one would take with a pair of shears, if one were to attempt 
to cut off the adult’s bill at the base. In this manner the old bird’s head was 
drawn down into the nest, where the more or less digested fish was disgorged, 
and at once devoured by the young. 

Three days passed before pictures were secured of this singular operation, 


68 Bird - Lore 


which, so far as I am aware, has not been before described or photographed. 
Doubtless, it is more pleasing to the young Herons than to others less materially 
concerned, and I confess that I prefer to recall the Egrets flashing white against 
the dark water, gleaming like snow on the sky, or raising their plumes in dainty 
coquetry, as the bird on the nest greets the approach of her partner. When 
spring returns, thanks to the vigilance of their guardians, I can so recall them, 
and with the assurance that new homes have been added to the settlement in 
the cypresses. 


The Background of Ornithology 


Read before the twenty-fifth Congress of the American Ornithologists’ Union 


By SPENCER TROTTER, Swarthmore College 


ze HAT strange mystical sense of a life in natural things, and of man’s 
ci life as a part of nature, drawing strength and color and character from 
local influences, from hills and streams and natural sights and sounds.’’ 
Such are Walter Pater’s words in an attempt to analyze the genius of Words- 
worth and his poetry. But these influences are not peculiar to the poet and 
the artist. Every one who has come under the charm of nature knows full well 
what Walter Pater means by “that strange mystical sense of a life in natural 
things,”’ that “drawing strength and color and character from local influences.” 
To the scientific mind, this may not have the same subtle significance, the same 
sense of close relationship that marks the poetic mind; for the scientific attitude 
toward nature is less subjective than that of the poet. And yet, in a way, we are 
all poets, and much of the joy of our work in the field of science springs from 
that subconscious self that lies deep in the world of natural things. 

It is the happy province of ornithology to have in its subject matter a group 
of beings at once engaging, appealing to the imagination, and varied in the charm 
evoked. No matter how far we may pursue the attractive though devious ways 
of nomenclature, of generic, specific and varietal distinctions, there will always 
be some bird that hovers in the background of memory,—some song, some nest, 
some flock of elusive migrants, each blending with some never-to-be-forgotten 
scene. Perchance an old garden, a windy autumn sky, a delectable woodland 
spot, a wide stretch of shore. In some such scene we come under the spell of 
bird-life, with an abounding zeal to know more and yet more of its fascinating 
problems. 

How many birds are associated in our memory with a particular landscape, 
and how often a bird’s voice embodies the spirit of a place. The cool twilights 
of the northland are blent with the mellow flute notes of Thrushes; the brooding 
spirit of summer woodlands finds voice in the untiring chant of the Red-eyed 
Vireo; the tide-rip is in the scream of the Tern, as it follows the shifting school. 
How much of shade and solitude there is in the Cuckoo’s guttural—a note 
of mystery, like the “wandering voice” of its European congener. 


The Background of Ornithology 69 


And, again, in the names of birds, how much of the real life is embodied 
in these. The vernacular is often the expression of subconscious genius, a genius 
for naming things as old as the race itself. I have traced in old vocabularies, 
as far back as that of Alfric (955-1020 A. D.), the vernacular of a number of 
familiar bird names. Thus ‘gull,’ as the word stands in our modern dictionaries, 
may have been derived from several sources; either from the voracious feeding 
of the bird, or from some notion of foolishness or stupidity connected with it, 
or even from the yellow color of its beak. Skeat would derive it from the second 
above noted, which is Celtic in origin—“so called,’”’ he says, “from an untrue 
notion that the Gull was a stupid bird.”’ But the name of this bird in the Anglo— 
Saxon tongue is true to the life—haejen blaete—literally a “haven screamer.”’ 
“Plover,’’ again, is close to its old French and Low Latin origin—meaning 
of the rain, or belonging to rain—probably, as Skeat suggests, from being 
“most seen and caught in a rainy season.’ Its German name, regenpjeijer— 
the ‘rain piper’—suggests a similar idea. 

Among our own birds, this same genius for names has been at work. What 
more appropriate title than ‘Bobolink’ for the gay jingler of our meadows, or 
‘Flicker’ or ‘Phoebe,’ ‘Veery’ or ‘Hermit,’ ‘Chewink’ or ‘Chickadee,’ or that 
array of Warbler names so rich in color suggestion? What other Sparrow could 
have been the Song Sparrow —or what other one the Chipping Sparrow? Names 
indicative of haunts call up a background picture of sea beaches in ‘Sandpiper’ 
and ‘Sanderling’; of bosky glades in ‘Woodcock’ and ‘Wood Thrush,’ and of 
the homestead in ‘Barn Swallow’ and ‘House Wren.’ Even scientific nomen- 
clature has been touched by this genius for names. What more appropriate 
for a group of Woodpeckers than Dryobates, a treader of oaks; or the name 
applied to one of its varietal forms—hyloscopus, watching over woodland; 
Poocetes, a dweller in meadow grass, is a poem in itself, and Hesperiphona, the 
sunset voice—is the golden glow of the West. 

That dual personality that haunts most of us is strangely alive in the orni- 
thologist. Even in the most rigidly scientific devotee, in whom the pleasure 
seems altogether to be in the pursuit of the determining character or the qualify- 
ing title, there is still joy in the living bird and its background. And often this 
deeper scientific knowledge brings a deeper and more real appreciation of the 
esthetic quality of bird life. Bliss Perry has somewhere remarked on two con- 
trasted points of view regarding the Skylark—two definitions that stand for 
the poetic and the scientific type of mind. “In the Century Dictionary,” says 
Mr. Perry, “the Skylark is described as a small oscine, passerine bird of the 
family Alaudide . . . insectivorous and migratory; in your Shelley the same 
bird is pictured as an unbodied joy.”? Now these two definitions are both admir- 
able and both may be entertained by the same mind, and I hold that to the 
catholic spirit the first—the scientific definition—is rich in poetic suggestion. 
What more delightful conception than that of oscine—the ancient name for a 
divining bird, one whose notes were augural, whose syrinx—a reed pipe borrowed 


70 Bird - Lore 


from the great god Pan—charms us to thisday. Curiously enough, too, the Lark 
is apparently connected in the old Celtic mythology with a notion that its song 
was of ill omen, and ‘laverock’ has the same significance. Alaudide, from 
Alauda, a supposedly Celtic word meaning the high song. “Insectivorous”’ 
calls up a picture of the bird foraging over arable land in quest of its choice food, 
and “migratory” has in it all of the mystery and fascination of that marvelous 
instinct of bird life. Scientific knowledge, aside from its recognized utility, 
is thus an added power for appreciation. 

Ornithology has a literary background, as well as the larger background 
of nature. Who has not some richly stored memories of Wilson or of Audubon ? 
To have come upon these books in the formative period of one’s life was indeed 
a happy circumstance. I remember one spring, many years ago, poring over 
the second volume of The Birds of America. Each plate and its accompanying 
text became a part of my mental life. And that May I saw my first Warbler— 
a Chestnut-sided—an atom of the migratory wave, of which I then knew nothing, 
swept, as I thought, by some miracle, into a solitary tree in the back yard of a 
city residence. Audubon’s account of this species was to the effect that he had 
shot five of these birds one cold May morning in the year 1808, at Pottsgrove, 
Pennsylvania. Whatever else he had written was for the moment forgotten. 
I had seen the sixth individual of its kind, and I went to school that day in astate 
of mind which only those who have had a like experience will understand. And 
Wilson was a delight. An early edition of the ‘American Ornithology’ was 
an heirloom in my family. It was deliciously musty, and the plates had made 
copper-colored impressions on the opposite pages of the text. In the distribution 
of things, these volumes drifted to me, and a turn of their old leaves still unlocks 
a gate that opens on “The Road to Yesterday.’ 

Those of us who acquired a taste for ornithology in the seventies can never 
forget the ‘Key to North American Birds,’ ‘Birds of the Northwest,’ and Field 
Ornithology’, nor Samuels’ ‘Birds of New England’, nor Baird, Brewer and 
Ridgways’ work, nor even the old Smithsonian ‘Check-list.’ 

This reminiscence suggests another background—that of history—the 
change of habit and of habitat of many birds, as the forests were cleared and the 
land became domesticated. I have elsewhere dwelt on this aspect of our bird 
life in a paper published some years ago in the ‘Popular Science Monthly.’ In 
that paper, entitled ‘Birds of the Grasslands’, I thought to show that certain 
of our eastern field birds—those that are peculiar to the open tracts of country, 
like the Vesper, the Grasshopper and Savanna Sparrows, the Meadowlark 
and the Dickcissel—might be a surplus population from the prairie region. The 
history of the Dickcissel in the east gave a strong color to this view. It was either 
this or a radical change of habit in the several species concerned. Today I do 
not feel as sure of the solution as I did at the time of writing that paper. The 
problem to me, however, is one of very great interest—this effect of the settle- 
ment of a country on its bird life. If I may be allowed to quote a paragraph 


The Background of Ornithology 71 


from that article:—‘“ We can picture to ourselves a-few prairie stragglers finding 
their way into the newly cleared lands of the settlers and gradually establishing 
themselves in the eastern fields. By what route they came is a matter of con- 
jecture—probably from the southwest in the northward-setting tide of the 
spring migration, or possibly by way of the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence 
Valley.’ Still, as I said before, I do not feel quite so sure of the actual facts as 
I did fifteen years ago. One acquires a habit of enjoying the idea—the broad 
sketch with its hazy outlines—without bothering about the finished picture. 
The settlement of the land has, as we know, greatly altered the status of bird 
life and has added a background of domesticity quite as charming in its way as 
the wilderness. 

One other background which some of us—not all of us—love—the orni- 
thologist’s own collection. That collection made in the days of one’s youth, 
each specimen, ill-shapen though it may be, forever potent to conjure the scene 
and the hour of its eventful capture. And the smell of those old boxes and chests 
of drawers—what fragrant memories are evoked! 

These backgrounds seem to me to be the very soul of ornithology. What 
branch of science comes nearer to satisfying that primitive instinct in a man— 
that instinct that takes him into the woods to hunt and fish or for the mere sake 
of steeping the senses in the fresh, rank life of things, and at the same time 
abundantly satisfying the acquisitive and classifying habit of mind? 

Each one of us holds some secret key—some open sesame—into the delight- 
ful background, and in the words of Keats in his “Ode to a Nightingale” so 
may we apostrophize the bird of our imagination— 


“Thou wast not born for death, immortal Bird! 
No hungry generations tread thee down; 
The voice I hear this passing night was heard 
In ancient days by emperor and clown; 
Perhaps the self-same song that found a path 
Through the sad heart of Ruth, when, sick for home, 
She stood in tears amid the alien corn; 
The same that oft-times hath 
Charm’d magic casements, opening on the foam 
Of perilous seas, in faery lands forlorn.” 


The Nest in the Gutter 


By GILBERT H. TRAFTON, Passaic, N. J. 
Photographs by the author 


a bird’s nest on the roof of the house: I went out to investigate, think- 

ing that an English Sparrow had probably chosen the gutter for its 
nesting site; but I was much surprised to see the white-tipped tail and black 
bill of a Kingbird projecting from the sides of a nest which was closely fitted 
into one end of the gutter. This suggested one of the first steps in the process 
of evolution by which the Kingbird may change its nesting habits to adapt them 
to the advent of man, as its cousin the Phoebe, and other birds have already 
done. I had seen a Kingbird keeping watch in a neighboring orchard, but I 
had not supposed its nest was so near. As I was watching, one of the birds flew 
to the edge of the nest, and, after waiting till its mate had come and settled on 
the eggs, flew away. 

Lest the birds might be frightened away, I decided to make no examination 
of the nest till the young had hatched. During the following week a bird was 
almost constantly on the nest. Several times I observed the bird on the nest 
being fed by its mate, and from my observations I judged this to be the way 
in which the bird usually obtained its food. On one occasion, the birds changed 
places on the nest. 

On July 6, I first saw the yellow bills of the young appear over the edge 
of the nest, while the parent was standing by with outspread wings to shield 
the young from the intense rays of the midday sun. I then ventured for the first 
time to look into the nest, using a long ladder reaching to the eaves. As I ascended 
the ladder and came near the nest, both birds flew furiously around me, utter- 
ing loud cries and dashing at my head with a whir of wings and snap of the bill, 
which suggested an unpleasant experience in case the birds came nearer. The 
nest contained four little ones, covered with a soft white coating of long fluffy 
down, looking like so many balls of freshly combed cotton. 

During the first part of the day, my presence near the corner of the house, 
even while on the ground, was sufficient cause for the birds to fly around, utter- 
ing cries of alarm, but later in the day they became quiet, so that I was able to 
remain near without disturbing them. That the birds might become accustomed 
to the ladder, I left it near the nest for the first day; on the following forenoon 
a tripod was attached to the ladder, and in the afternoon the camera was set up 
and the first picture taken, using a long piece of linen thread to snap the shutter. 
Although the birds flew at me fiercely while working at the camera, yet no sooner 
had I reached the ground than one of them was at the nest. 

The day was an exceedingly hot one, and the parents spent most of the time 
during the middle of the day standing over the nest with wings outspread, to 
shield the young from the hot sun, themselves panting, meanwhile, with wide- 


(72) 


(): the morning of June 30, my little girl informed me that she had seen 


The Nest in the Gutter 73 


opened bill. After I had taken the first picture, the bird remained standing 
quietly over the nest while I changed the plates, focused the camera and snapped 
the shutter for another exposure. 

Pictures were taken every two or three days, but the longer I worked with 
the birds the more fierce became their attacks upon me, quite in contrast with 
a pair of Chickadees with which I had been working a few days before, which 
came and fed their young without paying any attention to me while I was stand- 
ing near, arranging the camera. After the second day, whenever I approached 
near enough the nest to set up the camera, the Kingbirds flew at me furiously, 
poising themselves above me and then darting quickly at my head, now com- 
ing near enough to strike me with their bill. In no case was blood drawn, but, as 
they usually struck about the same spot each time, I was glad of an excuse 
to cover my head with a cloth 
while focusing the camera. Their 
rage seemed to grow from day 
to day, and on the morning of 
the fifth day my appearance out- 
doors was the signal for both 
birds to hover over my head and 
utter loud cries, while waiting for 
an opportunity to dart down at 
me. In the afternoon of the same 
day, while I was watching the 
birds from a distance of about 
fifty feet, one of them, which had 
been standing on the gutter near KINGBIRD SHIELDING YOUNG FROM 
the nest, suddenly made a dash eee ropa ee 
straight for my head with such speed and quickness that I barely had time to 
throw up my arm to ward off the attack. They never attacked me unless both 
birds were present, and even then only one came near enough to strike me. 

An occurrence on the fourth day, which might have resulted in a tragedy, 
doubtless tended to strengthen the feeling of antagonism which the birds dis- 
played. It was an extremely hot day, and, as there were no trees near the house, 
I fastened a bough of a tree to the ladder in such a way as to shade the nest. 
Although the birds attacked me vigorously as usual, I thought that the shade 
might prove just as grateful even if furnished against their will. During the 
afternoon a terrific thunderstorm arose, in which the rain fell in torrents and was 
accompanied by a gale of wind which blew the bough and ladder past the nest, 
tearing off one of the shingles near. After the storm I looked at the nesting site, 
expecting to find that the torrents had washed the nest and young from the 
gutter, but fortunately everything was as usual, and apparently both nest and 
young were in as good condition as ever. 

The food given the young seemed to consist chiefly of small insects, too 


74 Bird - Lore 


small to be identified, even with a powerful field glass. Occasionally a mul- 
berry was brought from a neighboring tree. During the second day the parents 
spent most of their time standing over the nest with outstretched wings, to protect 
the young from the sun’s rays. During the middle of the day the young were fed 
only occasionally, but later in the day they were fed oftener; but still they were 
shielded by the parents, who changed their: position a little to one side, as the 
sun sank nearer the horizon. Likewise, on the forenoon of the fourth day, the 
morning being very hot, the attention of the parents was given to hovering 
the young rather than to feeding them. Later in the forenoon when the sky 
became clouded, they stopped hover- 
ing and fed the young oftener. This 
was the last day that the birds were 
observed to shield the young from 
the heat of the sun. 

The work of feeding the young 
was about equally shared by both 
birds, who showed themselves in 
this, as in other ways, a loyal and 
devoted couple. After feeding the 
young birds, the parents would fre- 
quently remain standing on the 
gutter shielding the nest, or at some 
point near, till its mate returned. 

The frequency of feeding seemed 
to depend on the age of the young, 
the kind of day and the time of 
day. The older the young grew the 
oftener they were fed. During the 
first few days they were fed oftener 
M2 = =on_a cloudy day and less often dur- 

KINGBIRD PREPARING TO ing the middle of the hot days, the 
Begs yee attention of the parents being en- 
gaged in protecting the young from the sun’s rays. 

Observations were made every few days on the feeding habits for periods 
ranging from thirty minutes to two hours, with the following results. 


Day Kind of day Time of day Times fed in an hour 
SEcOndse asus eee NenyaAnOl= oe er INO Gia) S43 Lye UC a oe sf) 
Fourths 45 55a eee Very hot ae= ee oe Middle of forenoon......-.-- 15 
SURES rs ag ere ee ame Miehnihins So58s5 6. Last iof forenoon ess. ee 16 
Highth. 02 12) sMedium ia. a. 22 Mirddle of attemoon =e eee 20 
Ninth: > >a eens Miediuim)-=2 eee Middle of forenoon .......... 25 


Frequently food was brought so often by the parents that one was obliged to 
wait near the nest till its mate had finished disposing of the provisions which it 
was parceling out to four hungry mouths. 


The Nest in the Gutter 75 


On July 16, when ten days old, the first bird left the nest, and on the fore- 
noon of the next day the other three, one at a time, flew off to a neighboring 
tree. My camera was set up ready to take a picture of the last, and I was just 
about to push the shutter when he made a sudden departure and disappeared 
among the foliage of a neighboring maple. Later in the day, however, I found 
him again and placed him back in the nest, having first prepared the camera 
so that I might lose no time in taking his picture. But my haste proved uncalled 
for, as he was in no hurry to leave again, but apparently glad to return home 
once more after his first experience out in the great wide world. He remained 
there all the rest of the afternoon, as motionless as the gutter upon which he 
perched. And, when at dusk I passed by, his white breast and throat stood out 
as a conspicuous landmark of the old homestead in whose narrow confines his 
life thus far had been spent. In the morning he was gone, and only the bare nest 
remained as a reminder of an interesting family history. 

The family was seen frequently around the orchard, and, after the young 
had been out of the nest a week, the whole family of six was discovered in an 
apple tree. The young remained here for a half hour and during that interval 
‘were fed ten times by the parents. They then flew away and scattered among 
the neighboring trees. 

Although there were no color markings to distinguish the sexes, yet the two 
showed sufficient differences in habit to be told apart. Most of the incubating 
was done by one bird, which presumably was the female. After the young 
were hatched, one showed more persistence in remaining at the nest when I was 
near, and only one when attacking me came near enough to strike me. This 
one I also took to be the female. And, when approaching the nest, there was a 
difference in the number of call notes uttered by each. 

This pair showed none of the reputed pugnacity of the Kingbird toward 
other birds. Eight to ten species of birds commonly frequented the house and 
trees near, the audacious English Sparrow even perching on the eaves near the 
nest, but the Kingbirds made no attempt to drive the other birds away. Several 
- other nests of Kingbirds were discovered in the vicinity, and their occupants 
showed the same tolerance toward other birds and the same pugnacity toward 
human beings. The Crow was the only bird that I saw the Kingbirds 
chasing. 

After the young had left the nest, I removed it and examined the material 
of which it was composed. The nest was boat-shaped in appearance, following 
the outline of the gutter. On the outside was a mass of coarse material consist- 
ing of strings, cotton, three kinds of cloth, a long piece of narrow tape, some knit 
goods, a piece of linen, feathers, dried grass, rootlets and heads of several kinds 
of composite flowers. Inside of this skeleton was a fine meshwork of rootlets 
completely lining the coarser material; inside of this was a layer of rather coarse 
grasses, and in this on the bottom of the nest were a few horsehairs. Thus there 
were four distinct layers, the coarse material on the outside, the net of rootlets, 


76 Bird - Lore 


the layer of grass stems and the scattering of hairs. Other nests found in the 
vicinity agreed in having this fine network of rootlets as one of the middle’ 
layers. 4 
The feature of special interest about the nest was the large amount of such 
material as strings, pieces of cloth, etc., as suggesting that much may be done 
to induce birds to nest around our houses by exposing in appropriate places 
during the nesting season such materials as birds are found to use in nest build- 


ing. 


4 


Photographed by George Shiras 3d 


The Migration of Flycatchers 
THIRD PAPER 


Compiled by Professor W. W. Cooke, Chiefly from Data 
in the Biological Survey 


With drawings by Louis AGAssiz FUERTES and BrucE HorRSFALL 


HAMMOND’S FLYCATCHER 


Wintering south of the United States, this species returned to the Catalina 
Mountains, Arizona, March 31, 1885, and to Los Angeles, California, April 9, 
1896. It does not breed at either of these localities, and the last bird in the spring 
was seen at the former place May ro, and at the latter, May 9. The first record 
for Okanagan Landing, B. C., is May 14, 1906, and at Glacier, Alaska, June 
8, 1899. 

The first fall migrants were noted in the Huachuca Mountains, Arizona, 
August 26, and the last, in the Catalina Mountains, Arizona, October 25. The 
latest record at Los Angeles, California, is October 30, 1897. 


WRIGHT’S FLYCATCHER 


A few Wright’s Flycatchers winter in southern California and move north 
in April, arriving in southern British Columbia the latter part of the month. 
The first were seen in southern Arizona, April 17, 1902. The average date of 
arrival at Columbia Falls, Mont., is May 7, the earliest being April 24, 1895. 
In northeastern Colorado, the average is May 11, the earliest, May 9g, 1906. 


GRAY FLYCATCHER 


This species winters in Mexico, a few remaining at this season in southern 
Arizona and southern California. It migrates north, to breed in the mountains 
of southern Arizona and Los Angeles County, California, this short migration 
being performed in early April. 


BUFF-BREASTED FLYCATCHER 


This is the rarest Flycatcher in the United States. It winters in Mexico, 
a few coming north to breed in southwestern New Mexico and southern Arizona. 
They arrived in the Huachucas, Arizona, April 20, 1902, April 12, 1903; Santa 
Rita Mountains, April 20, 1899, and in the Chiracahua Mountains, Arizona, 
April 12, 1880. 


WESTERN FLYCATCHER 


This form replaces the Yellow-bellied Flycatcher from the Plains to the 
Pacific. It arrived in the Huachuca Mountains, Arizona, April 10, 1902; Terry, 
Mont., May 18, 1894, May 19, 1896; southern California, average March 20, 


(77) 


78 Bird - Lore 


earliest March 13, 1865; central California, average, April 1, earliest, March 16, 
1877; southern British Columbia, April 16, 1888, April 23, 1889, April 18, 1905. 
The species has been noted in southern California as late as October to, and in 
southern Arizona until October 28. 


ST. LUCAS FLYCATCHER 


This form of the Western Flycatcher is a resident in Lower California and 
in San Diego County, California. 


The Common Names of North American Birds 


The Editor of Brrp-Lore is quite right in saying that only such changes 
in the common names of birds as seem to be necessary should be made. Such as 
are made should be with the object of giving a more fitting name to the bird 
‘han it now has. 

There are two classes of birds’ names that do not fit the birds to which they 
are given, and might be changed for the better. .I refer to the naming of birds 
for cities or states which form only a small part, if any, of their range, and to 
names that do not fit the habits of the birds to which they are given. In the first 
class are the Nashville Warbler and Philadelphia Vireo, and in the second the 
Field and Tree Sparrows. 

For such birds as the Wilson’s Thrush and House Finch, the most common 
name should be taken. In the case of the Bartramian Sandpiper, the popular 
name of Upland Plover is misleading. A compromise between the two names 

might be made, and Upland Sandpiper accepted. 

Mr. W. L. Dawson, in the February Brrp-Lore, speaks of ihe Louisiana 
Water Thrush being a hard name to accept or alter. How would Southern 
Water or Brook Warbler do? 

The plan for an exact and consistent system of English names for subspecies, 
as well as for full species, is good and should be accepted: A few other sugges- 
tions for changes follow. Change 


‘Tree’ to Canadian Sparrow. 

‘Field’ to Bush or Pasture Sparrow. 

‘Philadelphia’ to Canadian Vireo. 

Cape May’ to Red-cheeked Warbler. 

‘Nashville’ to Birch Warbler. 

‘Magnolia’ to Spruce Warbler. 

‘Palm’ to Red-poll Warbler. 

‘Water-Thrush’ to Water or Brook Warbler. 

‘Purple’ to Crimson Finch. 

‘Saw-whet’ to Acadian Owl.—Epwarp H. Perkins, Tilion, N. H 


HPotes from Field and Stuop 


The Value of the Starling 


In the answers to Birp-Lore’s call 
for information concerning the habits of 
the English Starling and its effect upon 
native birds, there seems to be an absence 
of positive observation of bad traits in these 
birds. I have known them since they were 
first found in Norwalk, as told by Mr. 
George Ells, and own to no little pleasure 
derived from watching them through the 
year. Their cheery call gives pleasure to 
many all winter, and to those who go 
afield their flock-flights over the meadows 
and marshes are most pleasing, and their 
coming near to the houses to feed during 
bad winter wéather gives delight to more. 
Sentiment aside, the question is, are they 
going to prove beneficial or otherwise, in 
their new home, and what is to be the 
effect upon our native birds? A Flicker 
built and raised her brood for several 
years in a maple across from my home. 
The Flickers came back the spring of 1905, 
to find a pair of Starlings in possession of 
the hole in their favorite stub, and a fight 
ensued which lasted all day. The Star- 
lings were finally vanquished, and the 
Flicker drilled a new hole and raised her 
brood. 

I know an old tree which always had 
its pair of Bluebirds nesting in its cavities, 
now the Starlings own the tree. I did not 
see them dispossessed, but if the Flicker 
only just held her own, what show can 
the Bluebird or Downy Woodpecker have 
against the Starling ? 

A farmer who lives where these birds 
are plentiful complains bitterly because 
flocks settle in the top of his apple trees 
and eat the apples and spoil many more; 
and every one knows their fondness for 
apples when they gather on any tree which 
contains fruit in the winter. December 
Io, nearly two hundred of them were in 
the apple trees near my home, eating 
frozen apples, showing their fondness for 
this diet. A Mrs. Aiken, since deceased, 
one who loved birds, told me that while 


living in Greenwich, Conn., last spring, 
she watched the Starlings and one day, 
hearing a commotion outside, looked out 
in time to see a Starling flying from an 
apple tree with a Robin’s egg in its bill. 
Of this she was positive. This is a serious 
charge against him, and whether these 
traits will grow and the bird, like the 
English Sparrow, become an unwelcome 
guest, remains to be seen. 

This much may be said for them: they 
are industrious gleaners over the meadows 
and must do much good, as any one must 
know who has watched their journeying 
back and forth, while feeding their young; 
and, should they grow too numerous and 
prove destructive, their size would make 
them desirable for Starling pot-pie, by 
the many who chafe under the restraint 
put upon them by the laws protecting 
Flickers, Meadowlarks and other like birds. 
Their companionship and cheery whistle 
during the winter makes us hope that they 
will ever remain welcome.—WILBUR F. 
SmitH, South Norwalk, Conn. 


A Strange Friendship 


Some time ago I took home to my 
children a Quail which had had one of 
its wings injured, intending to let him go 
in the spring, but in the meantime ‘Fritz,” 
(as the children named him), became so 
attached to us all that he refused to fly 
away when liberated. 

Our cat is a good mouser, but also a 
great pet, and soon ‘Woollie’ and ‘Fritz’ 
became bosom friends. The cat likes to 
have ‘Fritz’? walk all over him, and they 
eat and sleep together. ‘Woollie,’ on one 
occasion, more than proved his friendship 
toward the Quail. During the summer it 
happened that we all went away and left 
the two pets alone over-night. We had 
left orders for the milkman to fill the cat’s 
dish in the yard with milk, which he did, 
but, alas! poor ‘Woollie’ did not get a drop 
of it, for somehow, during the excitement 
of getting away, the cat had slipped into 


(79) 


So Bird - 


the little room in which the Quail has his 
abode and is free to walk about. When we 
returned, very late the following night, 
we heard the cat scratching within, and we 
expected to see nothing left but the feathers 
of the Quail to tell the tale; but such was 
not the case, for ‘Woollie,’ in spite of his 
two days’ fasting, had not touched the 
bird. One of the Quail’s latest achieve- 
ments is to defend the children when 
they play with the dog. He flies at the dog, 
flaps his wings, pecks him and whistles 


Lore 


Trustful Birds 


Early in June, 1907, I found a nest of 
the Wood Thrush along the Brandywine, 
in Pennsylvania. The mother bird was 
sitting on four eggs. By approaching her 
very quietly and gradually, she would 
allow me to stroke her and, at the end of 
two or three visits, would eat bread from 
my hand. Once the nest tipped over a 
little, and I straightened it up without 
flushing her from the nest, though she 


QUAIL ON CAT 
Photographed from life 


at the top of his voice, until the dog stops 
jumping at the children. 

I am learning the Quail language and 
can tell what is the matter with ‘Fritz’ 
when in the next room. He makes a great 
many different sounds, which all have 
their meaning, for he always makes the 
same sounds for the same thing. By 
closely observing this for some time, I can 
now tell by the sounds of his voice when 
he is afraid, pleased, angry, surprised, 
contented or lonely. When any one enters, 
he has a certain sound as if greeting them. 
—A. H. ScHIPpANnc, Bethlehem, Pa. 


watched closely to see what I was doing. 
The young were successfully reared. 

Last week I was among the mountains 
of Pike county, and saw a Crested Fly- 
catcher moving restlessly around among 
the trees. Upon calling to him gently, he 
came flying down to a low branch. After 
a careful survey of the surroundings, he 
saw nothing to alarm, and allowed me 
to smooth down his ruffled feathers with 
my hand. I played with him for several 
minutes, and he seemed to be glad to have 
company. 

Last fall one of my neighbors was walk- 


Notes from Field and Study 81 


ing through the woods in New Jersey 
with his children. They came across a fam- 
ily of young Goldfinches in the bushes, that 
were chirping as if they were lonely. The 
children stopped and called back to the 
birds, and presently the latter, one at a 
time, fluttered down, alighting on the 
heads and arms of the children, and rest- 
ing there contentedly. The secret of being 
able to catch wild birds in this way seems 
to be in great deliberation of movement.— 
R. P. SHARPLES, West Chester, Pa. 


The Most Southern Starling Record 


Several Starlings (Sturnus vulgaris), 
which I saw from the train window as I 
was passing through Tacony, Penn., on 
December 9, 1907, are, apparently, the first 
that have been noticed near Philadelphia. 
As they were not far away and were flying, 
I do not think I could have been mistaken 
in their identity.—Louts B. BisHop, New 
Haven, Conn. 


A Brown Creeper’s Mistake 


One of the most novel and pleasing 
of many interesting incidents of my 
wanderings afield enlivened a recent stroll 
through a second-growth woodland near 
my home, While walking along a wide 
wood-path, I stopped to observe a mixed 
flock of winter birds in the trees nearby. 
There were Chickadees, Golden-crowned 
Kinglets, a Downy Woodpecker and a 
Brown Creeper, the latter being the first 
I had seen this season. For this reason, 
and also because this species is much rarer 
than the others, I was watching it closely 
through my field glass, standing almost 
motionless in the center of the path; mean- 
while, it flew to the base of a chestnut 
tree about fifty feet from me, and hitched 
its way up the rough bark. It had reached 
the lowest branches, about twenty feet 
from the ground, when suddenly it left 
the tree and darted straight at me, and, 
to my amazement, alighted on the left 
leg of my trousers, just above my shoe, in 
front, evidently mistaking the black and 
gray color for the bark of a tree. I was as 


quiet as possible, merely bending my neck 
a little to get a better view. The little 
fellow headed almost straight upward; 
but the texture of the cloth must have felt 
much different from the bark of a tree to 
his grasping toes, for he worked up only 
two or three inches and then fluttered off 
and went around to the back, where I 
think he lit again, as I felt a slight move- 
ment of the cloth. After waiting a few 
moments and feeling nothing more, I 
turned cautiously and found that he had 
gone. A little search revealed him climb- 
ing a nearby tree in the same business- 
like manner as usual, as though his recent 
experience had already passed from his 
memory. In mine, however, it made a 
much more lasting impression.—CLar- 
ENCE M. ARNOLD, Woonsocket, R. I. 


Notes on Kirtland’s Warbler at Ann 
Arbor, Mich. 


The spring of 1907 seemed to be pro- 
lific in exceptional occurrences among the 
Warblers, many species being noted in 
considerable numbers which, during past 
seasons, have been looked upon as quite 
rare. 

Among my more noteworthy records 
for May, are two concerning the Kirtland 
Warbler (Dendroica kirtlandi). The first 
record was made on the 13th of the-month, 
of a single individual in a pine hedge near 
the cemetery. When first noted it was 
apparently feeding in this hedge, but soon 
flew to a small elm tree within twenty or 
thirty feet of the observer, allowing an 
excellent view of it through field-glasses. 
For the most part, it was silent except for 
an occasional call-note, accompanied by 
a ‘teetering’ of the tail similar to the char- 
acteristic habit of the Palm Warbler. 

On the 16th of the month, three days 
after the first record, much to my sur- 
prise and gratification, a second Kirtland 
Warbler was found in the vicinity of the 
Huron river. This one was feeding on the 
side of a steep ridge bordering the river 
on the south and, flitting from bush to 
bush, it evinced an utter lack of fear, per- 
mitting me to approach to within a sur- 


82 Bird- Lore 


prisingly short distance. It was silent but 
wagged its tail as in the other case.— 
A. D. TInKER, Ann AZLarbor, Mich. 


A Winter Rose-breasted Grosbeak 


From January 26 up to today (February 
13), there has been in and about our yard 
here a bird which I think I can positively 
identify as an immature male Rose- 
breasted Grosbeak. This bird has been 
about practically every day, including some 
days when there was five inches of snow 
on the ground and the thermometer was 
down to zero. The bird’s chief food seems 
to be the seeds of the common honeysuckle; 
it also eats suet, and a number of times has 
been down on the ground picking up 
crumbs with the English and ‘Tree 
Sparrows. 

As this bird is now getting rather tame— 
eating suet from a lilac bush just outside 
our window—I shall no doubt have the 
opportunity to make further study of it, 


’ Photographed by C. D. Brown 


rr : 
se 


By TREE SPARROW 


and possibly get some photographs 
later on.— CLARENCE D. Brown, 
Rutherford, N. J. 

[Mr. Brown subsequently sent the 
photograph, herewith published, 
confirming his identification in the 
most satisfactory manner. The 
portrait of a Tree Sparrow, which 
posed for him while waiting forgthe 
Grosbeak, is also presented.— ED.] 


es 


A 


a: 


Notes on the Mourning Dove 


On May 20, 1907, a curious nest 
of the Mourning Dove was found 
in a rather deep ravine leading 
down to the Huron river. The birds 
had apparently appropriated the 
home of a pair of Robins, as the 
nest was in too good a state of re- 
pair to be a last-year’s one, and, in 
their usual careless manner, had 
laid a few twigs and rootlets on the 
top of it, forming a _ two-storied 


ee oe a’. 
A WINTER ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAK 
Photographed by C. D. Brown 


Notes from Field and Study 83 


structure. One of the Doves was on the 
nest when discovered, but no eggs were 
present. This nest was afterward aband- 
oned, for some unknown reason. 

Another nest of this species was noted 
on May 28, in the same general locality, 
but was placed on the ground. The nest, 
a simple affair of dried grasses and a very 
few twigs, was situated at the foot of a 
tree about half-way up the side of the 
ravine, and contained two fresh eggs with 
the old bird sitting. Three days later the 
nest was revisited but the eggs were gone 
and the nest apparently abandoned. 

A similar nest was located by another 
party earlier in the season. This one was 
placed at the base of an apple tree in 
rather an extensive orchard, and also 
contained eggs.—A. D. TINKER, Ann 
farbor, Mich. 


A Winter Robin 


It has occured to me that the readers 
of Birp-LorE might be interested to 
know that, on January tro, the writer 
saw a Robin in the city of Chicago. The 
bird was very much alive, although appar- 
ently puzzled and disturbed. It was in a 
tree on the side of a bricked street, within 
two squares of Lake Michigan. The mean 
temperature for that day was 36°; the 
ground was bare, and the wind from the 
south. The first dates on which a Robin 
was seen by the writer for the past three 
years are February 24, 1905, February 
22, 1906, February 16, 1907.—PERCIVAL 
B. CorrFtn, Chicago, Ill. 


Nature’s Remedies 


Nature does not run this world on 
humanitarian principles. If any forms of 
life become too numerous, she finds a 
plan to check them. And while it may be 
hard on the individual, and may cause 
unthinking people to call it cruel, yet it is 
the divine law of the universe and is for 
the good of the community. There have 
been several exemplifications of this law 
in Pennsylvania recently. For years the 
English Sparrows have been an _ ever- 


increasing nuisance to both farmers and 
town-dwellers, but there is a measure of 
relief in sight. In West Chester, a town 
of 11,000 people, there are dozens of little 
red and gray Screech Owls hiding in the 
old dead trees in daytime, and at night 
make a meal on the 
They are making their 


sallying forth to 
English Sparrows. 
mark, too, for the Sparrows are becoming 
less abundant to a considerable extent, 
and the people have come to a realization 
of the good the Owls do, and are giving 
them protection. Along this same line 
might be noted the entire absence, during 
the past season, of the potato bugs. Some 
disease seems to have attacked them, 
and last summer they were absolutely 
wiped off the face of the earth so far as 
this paft of the country is concerned.— 
ROBERT P. SHARPLES, West Chester, Pa. 


Over-productive Robins 


A friend of mine, a physician and a 
thoroughly reliable man, tells me of a pair 
of Robins which rather overdid the matter 
of brood-rearing last summer, in the town 
of Strasburg, this county. They built 
their nest on some vines trailing about a 
veranda, so that they could be easily 
watched. Instead of laying the usual 
Robin clutch of eggs, the female laid 
eight. My informant declares that they 
were all Robin’s eggs, and none of them 
the eggs of the Cowbird. He says he has 
known the Robin’s eggs since his boyhood 
days, and cannot be mistaken in this 
instance. 

In due time all the eggs were hatched. 
As the bantlings grew, the nest began to 
overflow, and, one by one, at least three, 
perhaps four, of them were crowded over 
the edge, fell to the ground, and were 
found lying there dead, still too young to 
be taken care of outside the nest. Four 
of the birds remained in the nest till they 
were able to fly, when they were brought 
off safely. I do not believe such over-cal- 
culations are frequent in Robindom, or in 
any other part of the bird domain. Do 
other observers know of such instances p— 
LEANDER S. KeEySER, Canal Dover, O. 


Book Mews and Reviews 


GILBERT WHITE OF SELBORNE. A lecture 
by W. H. Muttens. London. Witherby 
& Co., 326 High Holborn. 1907. 8vo. 
32 pages, 7 plates. Price 2s. 6d., net. 
Every American nature-lover who visits 

England without making a pilgrimage to 

Selborne fails in his duty to Gilbert 

White’s memory and to himself. The 

reasons why one should gladly pay his 

tribute to White are obvious; but, if this 
father of local naturalists had not made 
his own little world famous, it would still 
be well worth seeing for its own sake, and 
particularly for the opportunities it offers 
to the stranger to become acquainted 
with the commoner English birds. But, 
whether or not one can enjoy the charm 
of Selborne’s pastoral beauty and _ its 
vivifying influence on his impressions of 

White, Mr. Mullens’ treatise is well worth 

having for the information it contains of 

White, of Selborne, and of the classic 

‘Natural History and Antiquities.’—F. 

M.C. 


BIRDS OF CALIFORNIA IN RELATION TO 
THE Fruit INDusTRY. Part I. By F. 
E. L. Beat. Bulletin No. 30, Biologi- 
cal Survey. 8vo. 100 pages, 5 plates. 
Professor Beal has passed three fruit 

seasons in California, gathering the 

material on which this important paper 
is based. The comparative scarcity of 
wild fruits in the regions devoted to 
orchards, together with the fact that 
orchards developed by irrigation prove 
attractive oases for many _ species of 
frugivorous birds, has made the destruc- 
tion of fruit by birds a more serious 
question in the West than it is in the 

East. 

Professor Beal presents at length the 
evidence he has secured by observation 
in the field, and by analyses of stomach 
contents, and concludes that only the 
House Finch or Linnet is_ sufficiently 
destructive to fruit to warrant a reduction 
in its numbers. Other species may appear 
to be harmful, but a record of their food, at 
all seasons, shows a balance in their favor. 


None of those, he says, most directly 
concerned ‘‘advocated measures for the 
extermination, or even the material de- 
crease, of birds.” ‘‘We can’t get along 
without the birds” was a sentiment voiced 
by many and endorsed by all. 


7 


LIsT OF BIRDS LIVING IN THE NEW YORK 
ZOOLOGICAL PaRK, December 31, 1906. 
Reprinted from the Eleventh Annual 
Report of the New York Zoological 
Society. 20 pages. 
In an editorial footnote to this publi- 

cation, we are informed that “‘in the great 

majority of cases the Society holds that 
the publication of lengthy lists of names 
is uninteresting to the public and therefore 
undesirable.”” An exception, however, has 
been made in the present case, “‘partly on 
account of the universal interest in living 

birds, and. also because of our need of a 

printed check-list of our bird collection.” 
Without pausing to inquire why lists 

of the mammals and reptiles living in the 
park would not also be both interesting 
and useful, we are sure that aviculturists, 
artists and bird students in general will 
welcome this statement of the splendid 
collection of birds which Mr. Beebe, the 
Society’s Curator, has brought together.— 
F. M. C. 


GEOGRAPHIC VARIATION IN BIRDS WITH 
ESPECIAL REFERENCE TO THE EFFECTS 
or Humipity. By C. WILLIAM BEEBE, 
Curator of Birds. Zoologica, Vol. 1, No. 
1. 8vo., 41 pages, 5 half-tone plates. 
Published by the New York Zoological 
Society. 

Zodlogical parks are so often con- 
sidered mere menageries for the exhibi- 
tion of living animals that we always 
think with satisfaction of Mr. Beebe’s 
admirable work with the birds of the New 
York Zodlogical Society. As Mr. Beebe 
remarks, “It has long been known that 
many mammals, birds and reptiles, in- 
habiting a moist, humid region show a 
much darker or increased pigmentation 
of the hair, feathers or scales. than indi- 
viduals from drier localities.’”” Mr. Beebe, 


(84) 


Book News 


however, is, we believe, the first naturalist 
to demonstrate by actual experimentation 
the relation between humidity and inten- 
sity in birds’ colors. 

He presents a historical review of the 
subject, and discusses dichromatism and 
sporadic melanism, but the chief interest 
in this paper centers in the results of his 
subjection of a White-throated Sparrow, 
a Wood Thrush and Inca Doves to an 
atmosphere with a humidity of 84 per cent, 
this being .11 greater than the mean annual 
humidity of New York City. In each 
instance, after a period of between two 
and three years for the Thrush and 
Sparrow, and as many as six years for 
one of the Doves, the plumage showed 
a great increase in pigment, the Sparrow 
being nearly black, the Thrush and Dove 
with the black areas largely increased. 
In no case, it should be noted, was there 
a change without molt. 

In discussing the philospohic aspects 
of the case, Mr. Beebe concludes that 
such ontogentic variations are somatic, 
and would not affect the offspring of the 
birds exhibiting them, and that we have 
as yet no means of telling when or how such 


modifications would become congenital.— 
B.M..C. 


REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF AGRICUL- 
TURE ON THE WORK OF THE BIOLOGICAL 
SuRvEY. Senate Document No. 132. 
Dec. 1907. 8vo. 29 pages, 6 maps. 


We imagine that even those who are 
most familiar with the admirable work 
of the Biological Survey will be surprised 
by this summary of what it has accom- 
plished since its formation. The results 
of its investigations of the food habits of 
birds have formed the very backbone of 
bird protection throughout this country, 
and are cited as models wherever the sub- 
ject of economic ornithology is considered. 
Its faunal and systematic aside 
from its importance in_ establishing 
Life Areas, is of the highest scientific 
value, while its activity in game protection 
under the provisions of the Lacey act, 
have strengthened the game laws of every 
state and territory by unifying the interests 


work, 


and Reviews 85 
involved, and arousing a spirit of codpera- 
tion among those whose duty it is to pro- 
tect our wild life. 

The Survey has published over 7,000 
pages of printed matter. Most of this 
is unique in character, or, in other words, 
if it had not been prepared by the Sur- 
vey it would not be in existence; which 
is only another way of saying that if it 
were not for the researches of the Survey 
we should not know much more about 
the general food habits and economic 
value of our birds and animals than we did 
twenty-five years ago. 

On the merits of this summary, the 
Survey clearly deserves to be ranked 
among those branches of the government 
service which are making returns of the 
most practical value to the people.— 
BoeMiE C3 


REPORT OF THE CHIEF OF THE BUREAU 
OF BIOLOGICAL SURVEY FOR 1907. By C. 
Hart MErRRIAM. From Annual Reports, 
Department of Agriculture, Washington, 
1908. 8vo. 23 pages. 

The wide and varied field covered by 
the Biological Survey is evidenced by 
this summary of its activities during 1907. 
In economic mammalogy, the Bureau has 
investigated the relations of coyotes, 
wolves, rabbits and other destructive 
native species, of house rats and bacterial 
diseases. In economic ornithology, work 
has been done on birds in relation to scale 
insects, to fruits and to the cotton- boll 
weevil. The food of wild Ducks is being 
investigated and a report on the food of 
Grosbeaks has been concluded. A report 
on means of attracting birds is promised, 
but, in the meantime, information in regard 
to this subject may be obtained on appli- 
cation to the Survey. A bulletin is also 
in preparation on the distribution and 
migration of shore birds. 

Other phases of the Bureau’s work, to 
which attention is here called, are the 
distribution of trees, the establishment 
of life and crop zones, the supervision of 
the importation of foreign birds and mam- 
mals and of bird reservations, the protec- 
tion of game in Alaska, the publication 
of the game laws of the United States and 


86 Bird - Lore 


Canada, and other bulletins in connection 
with the enforcement of the law. 

The publications of the Survey during 
the year include one ‘North American 
Fauna,’ two ‘Bulletins,’ four ‘Grosbeak’ 
articles, two ‘Farmers’ Bulletins,’ eight 
circulars, the Report of the Acting Chief 
for 1906, and nine reprints of former 
publications. This is a record entitling 
the Survey to the thanks of every one 
interested theoretically or practically in 
complicated economic 
relations of our birds and mammals.— 
BM. (C: 


the increasingly 


Our Bird ComRADES. By LEANDER S. 
KEYSER. Rand, McNally & Company. 
I2mo. 197 pages, 16 colored plates. 


Mr. Keyser here brings together in a 
well-printed volume a number of the 
studies from nature for which he is so well 
known. The character of these essays is 
indicated by the following titles: ‘Begin- 
ning the Study,’ ‘Making New Friends,’ 
“Wildwood Minstrels,’ ‘Chickadee Ways,’ 
‘An Alpine Rosy Finch,’ ‘A Bird’s Educa- 
tion,’ “Bird Flight,’ ‘A Bird’s Foot.’ 

Mr. Keyser bases his writings on origi- 
nal observation, and they thus have 
an ornithological as well as a popular 
value. 

The colored plates from mounted birds 
are far from satisfactory.—F. M. C. 


The Ornithological Magazines 


THE AuK.—The pages of the January 
number are monopolized by local lists and 
migration data of more or less general in- 
terest. Several contributors lay emphasis 
on the unusual coldness and backward- 
ness of the spring migration season of 
1907, together with the resultant destruc- 
tion of bird life. The Rev. G. Eifrig 
furnishes observations made at Ottawa, 
Canada, Mr. N. A. Wood records the 
unseasonable conditions that prevailed, 
even in June, at Ann Arbor, Michigan, 
and Mr. L. H. Porter reports a number of 
species nesting about two weeks later 
than usual at Stanford, Conn. In contrast 
is the extremely early autumn nesting of 


the Barn Owl, Mr. A. T. Wayne recording 
a nest found in South Carolina in Sep- 
tember. 

Mr. A. C. Bent’s ‘Summer Birds of 
southwestern Saskatchewan’ and Mr. E. 
S. Cameron’s ‘Birds of Custer and Daw- 
son Counties, Montana,’ are concluded 
in the present issue. There is also a local 
list by F. H. Allen of ‘Summer Birds of 
the Green Mountain Region of southern 
Vermont,’ and an important contribution 
by Mr. E. T. Seton, entitled ‘Bird Records 
from Great Slave Lake region.’ Con- 
sidering the interest that attaches to the 
latter little-known region, it is a matter 
of regret that we find neither an introduc- 
tion nor even an itinerary of what was evi- 
dently a very interesting trip. Among 
other things, Mr. Seton found the first 
authentic nest of Harris’s Sparrow (Zono- 
trichia querulc) that has been secured. 
In passing, we would say that abbrevia- 
tions such as we find in Mr. Allen’s list 
should be avoided. It is bad enough to 
be obliged to interpret with a key aster- 
isks and other marks that have a different 
meaning in every local list one refers to, 
but to read that a species is “common at 
L.; less so at W. B.’ makes one wonder 
if the price of ink has gone up. 

Mr. S. Buturlin, writing of the ‘Red- 
spotted Bluethroat of Alaska,’ considers 
it identical with the Siberian form which 
bears the name Cyanecula suecica robusta, 
and Dr. J. A. Allen, in discussing ‘The 
Generic names Mycteria and Tantalus, 
decides that our Wood Ibis should be 
known as Mycteria americana. 

Dr. C. W. Townsend, in writing “On 
the Status of Brewster’s Warbler (Hel- 
minthopila leucobronchialis), and Mr. J. 
T. Nichols, in discussing ‘Lawrence’s and 
Brewster’s Warblers and Mendelian In- 
heritance,’ revive an old problem without 
adducing new facts, and leave it, except 
in theory, just where it was twenty years 
or more ago. 

Mr. J. H. Sage’s account of the twenty- 
fifth meeting of the American Orni- 
thologists’ Union is instructive, and the 
reviews and notes that close the magazine 
are numerous and varied.—J. D., Jr. 


Editorials 87 


BHird- Lore 


A Bi-monthly Magazine 


Devoted to the Study and Protection of Birds 
OFFICIAL ORGAN OF THE AUDUBON SOCIETIES 


Edited by FRANK M. CHAPMAN 
Published by THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 


Vol. X Published April 1, 1908 No. 2 


SUBSCRIPTION RATES 


Price in the United States, Canada and Mexico 
twenty cents a number, one dollar a year, post- 
age paid. 


COPYRIGHTED, 1908, BY FRANK M. CHAPMAN 


Bird-Lore’s Motto: 
A Bird in the Bush is Worth Two in the Hand 


APRIL 1 is the New Year of the Middle 
States bird students’ calendar. March, 
it is true, has brought evidences of return- 
ing life, but it is not until the end of that 
month that we are thrilled by the spirit 
of spring. Where, before, we would hasten 
the wheels of time, now we would check 
them; stretching the succeeding 
months into four. 

With the year we renew our youth, 
living over again this exciting period of 
anticipation and realization. Greeting 
the far-travelled migrants with the joy of 
a first meeting or with the deeper pleas- 
ures of association. Surely, in all nature 
there is nothing to compare with this 
return of the birds! 


two 


To the field-glass student the question 
of identification is now a living one in every 
sense of the world. But he may be as- 
sured that the best substitute for the bird 
is a detailed description of it, written while 
it is in sight. Put down everything you 
can see, and, if you cannot identify the 
stranger yourself, send the description 
to some number of Brrp-LoReE’s Advisory 
Council. If the bird is very rare or acci- 
dental, write a detailed description whether 
you recognize it or not. The description 
will be far more convincing than your 
bare statement that you saw this rare bird 
or that. 

Even better than a description, but 
usually impossible to get, is an identi- 


fiable photograph of the bird. Few observ- 
ers are as fortunate in this respect as our 
correspondent Mr. Brown, who reported 
the presence of a Rose-breasted Gros- 
beak in northern New Jersey in Janu- 
ary and February. No bird of this species 
should have been in the United States 
at this season, and our request for a photo- 
graph on which to base the record was 
replied to, as will be seen, in the most 
satisfactory manner. 


An Index is not generally considered 
interesting reading, nor is it customary 
to buy an Index without the matter to 
which it refers, but the Index to the 
eight volumes of the ‘Bulletin of the Nut- 
tall Ornithological Club’ and seventeen 
volumes of “The Auk’ is an exception to 
the first rule, and warrants a violation 
of the second. It is virtually a summary 
of what has been done in ornithology 
during the most important twenty-five 
years in the history of that science, the 
150,000 entries being arranged by authors, 
subjects, common and scientific bird’s 
names and localities. 

The Index might be supposed to relate 
only to the papers contained in the publi- 
cations mentioned, but as a matter of fact 
it has a much wider scope. Under the 
editorship of Dr. J. A. Allen, the ‘Bulletin’ 
and ‘Auk’ have acquired the well-deserved 
reputation of publishing the most ex- 
tended, satisfactory and authoritative 
reviews of ornithological literature which 
appear in any journal. These reviews 
being as carefully treated as the original 
contributions to the ‘Bulletin’ and ‘The 
Auk,’ their subject matter also becomes a 
part of the Index, adding greatly to its 
value. 

The Index was prepared under the 
editorship of Dr. Jonathan Dwight, Jr., 
who is to be unreservedly congratulated 
on the completion of his labors and on the 
admirable manner in which they have 
been performed. 


DuriInG March and April the Editor 
who will be in the field, asks the indul- 
gence of correspondents. 


The Audubon Docieties 


SCHOOL DEPARTMENT 


Edited by MABEL OSGOOD WRIGHT 


Address all communications to the Editor of the School Department, National 
Association of Audubon Societies, 141 Broadway, New York City 


A GOOD EXAMPLE 


HE honorable President of the National Association of Audubon So- 

cieties had a birthday in January—his sixty-second—more power to him! 

In some way the fact leaked out in spite of the very quiet celebration of 

the event, and some of the members of the La Rue Holmes Nature League who 

are pupils of the public schools of Chatham, Orange, and Summit, New Jersey, 
were moved to write their congratulations to Mr. Dutcher. 

As it is impossible to print all of the letters, the two below printed are given 
as showing two opposite styles—the imaginative and the directly practical. As 
for congratulations and the best wishes for many years ahead, for our President, all 
filled with the work that is his greatest joy, all those who have worked with him, 
and know his singleness of purpose, will heartily join with the children.—M. O. W. 


SumMrt PusBLic ScHOooL, No. 1, Summit, N. J., January 17, 1907. 
Dear Mr. Dutcher:—I am a boy in the Summit Public School. I know that 
you cannot be thanked by the birds you have saved. I do not think I can 
thank you very much, but as I grow up I am going to save all the wild birds 
and flowers that I can. This will be the way I can thank you. 
I also wish you a Happy Birthday and many of them. 
Your unknown friend, Oscar HELLQUIST. 


Summit, N. J., January 17, 1908. 

My dear Mr. Dutcher:—You probably do not know me, but I do know you. 
I am a Partridge. I live in the woods in New Jersey. One of my children said 
this morning, “Oh, mother! What a beautiful day it is.” 

I said to him, “ Well, I think you had better thank Mr. Dutcher for it, for 
if it were not for Mr. Dutcher you would probably be dead by now, killed by a 
naughty hunter.” 

He then said, ‘Mother, I want you to write Mr. Dutcher and thank him 
for telling those naughty hunters not to kill us.” 

So I am writing to thank you for passing laws so that “those naughty hunters” 
cannot kill us. Your bird friend, E. N. PARTRIDGE. 


This is the letter Mrs. Partridge gave me this morning. I feel the same way 
toward you, myself, for protecting our pretty birds, and wish you a Happy 
Birthday and many of them. Yours truly, SADIE CADOO. 


(88) 


The Audubon Societies 89 


The Audubon Society of Connecticut is about to try a new plan for stimulating 
the work in schools and keeping the local secretaries in touch also. 

As all the work in this state, as in many others, is done by those who work 
for the love of it, and who are not able to devote more than a small portion of 
their time to it, a new office has been created, that of School Secretary. 

This position will be filled by a young lady who has not only been a teacher 
of teachers, and therefore knows the limitations as well as the requirements for 
bird work in the public schools, but has had success in speaking to children 
and teachers as well in the interest of the Audubon work. 

There are often people who would be willing to become local secretaries and 
organize branch work if they knew exactly how to proceed, but it is not always 
easy to impart this information by either printed directions or letter. To meet 
these prospective workers half way, the School Secretary is prepared during the 
spring to visit central places in each county of the state, where a sufficient group 
of those interested desire to talk over the various branches of the work, and 
receive directions by word of mouth, with the added inspiration that comes from 
personal contact with one fitted to explain, as well as fired by enthusiasm. 

Any one living in the state, interested either in introducing protective bird 
study into a school, or of forming a local circle of the Audubon Society, may 
address Miss Hurd, 43 West avenue, South Norwalk, Connecticut. 


FLORIDA SCREECH OWL 
Photographed by George Shiras, 3d 


THE SONG SPARROWS 
The Sweet Singers 


By MABEL OSGOOD WRIGHT 


Che Mational Aggsociation of Audubon Societies 


EDUCATIONAL LEAFLET NO. 31 


All birds have some sort of claim upon the attention, through knowledge 
of individual habits or economic worth, even when beauty of plumage or song 
does not hold our attention. There are birds that we should miss if they disap- 
peared from the places where we have been accustomed to find them, but there 
are others that we simply could not get on without, and the Song Sparrow is. 
one of them. Song Sparrow? It would be better to say Song Sparrows, as this 
shy, yet friendly, bird in its adaptation to the various conditions that enables. 
it to live in so many parts of North America, has developed a score of species. 
that vary more or less in size, color and markings, yet every one of these has. 
the attributes for which we love our own little Eastern Song Sparrow (Melospiza 
cinerea melodia) so well that we forget that he is not the only one. 

In a large family like that of the Sparrows and Finches, to which our Sweet 
Singer belongs, one would expect to lose sight of the streaked brownish bird 

with the large spot in the center of his breast, as if Nature had 
His Kindred blended two or three of the smaller specks, in order to aid its 

identity and help us out. But no, the Grosbeaks and Crossbills 
may compel the eye as they flash in and out of the trees; the Juncos, Snowflakes. 
and Red-polls cheer us in winter; but, when the March sun releases the frozen 
brooks, what voice is it that first rejoices at the sound and tells us of it ?—the 
Song Sparrow! Up floats his cheerful ditty from the alders—‘“‘ With sweet, 
sweet, sweet and very merry cheer!” before his cousin the Goldfinch has. 
donned his yellow spring jacket with black sleeves and cap, or the tremolo of 
the gentle soft-eyed Chipping Sparrow is heard from the grass before dawn. 

Our Song Sparrow is one of the little group of birds that may be called 
winter residents in the middle New England states. This does not mean that 
all of these Sparrows remain the entire season in their summer 
nesting haunts, for even the hardiest birds shift about in the 
winter season. The Song Sparrows we see from November to: 
March are apt to be those that have summered considerably farther northward;, 
thus, some of the birds that bred in the region of Quebec would be likely to winter 
in Massachusetts, while the Massachusetts birds would come on to Connecti- 
cut, New York, Pennsylvania, and so on. Neither will the Sparrows be found 
so plentiful even in the middle parts of their range as in summer, as by far the 


Season and 
Range 


(90) 


SONG SPARROW 


Order — PASSERES Family — FRINGILLID& 
Genus — MELOosPIZzA Subspecies — CINEXEA MELODIA 


The Song Sparrows QI 


greater number will go to the southerly limit, lured by mild weather and the 
more generous food supply. 

The range of our Eastern Song Sparrow is through the whole of eastern 
North America westward to the plains. It nests from Virginia and northern 
Illinois up to Manitoba and Quebec, and winters from Massachusetts and 
southern Illinois down to the Gulf of Mexico. When you realize what different 
conditions obtain in the various parts of this great range, you will at once see 
how very adaptable this Sweet Singer is to all sorts of climate and food con- 
ditions. For though we may not think them plentiful birds, from their rather 
elusive ways, habit of spending much time in river brush, and never gathering 
in great autumnal flocks, like some of their kin, yet they are one of the few species 
that have everywhere increased rather than diminished. 

The difference in the time when nesting is begun by different species of birds 
is a most fascinating study. By the middle of March the winter Song Sparrows 

will have taken wing, and from that time until well into April 
The Nest the summer residents will come along, not in flocks, but one or 

two at a time, appearing near the old nesting places. April is 
probably the best time to hear the most voluble and unguarded song of the 
Sweet Singers, for, as they do not begin to nest until early May, there is no 
necessity of secrecy of movement or choice of singing perch. 

It is a fact to be noted, that the hardiest birds, or those first to arrive, are by 
no means those that nest first. The large birds, Owls, Hawks, etc., take the lead 
of the smaller birds; the Bluebird, White-breasted Nuthatch and Robin only 
nest in April. The Song Sparrow and Phoebe (who returns in March) wait 
until May; and the Goldfinch and Cedar Birds, both sturdy winter residents, 
wait until almost the end of June. ‘ 

The Song Sparrow conceals its nest with the greatest care, either in the mazes 
of a low bush, in the division of the branches of a shrub just above ground, 
where bits of bark and dry leaves have colletced, or on the ground itself between 
grass tussocks that not only conceal the nest, but are sometimes woven in with 
the rootlets, plant fibers and shredded bark of which the nest is formed. Like 
the Chipping Sparrow or Hair Bird, it sometimes uses horsehair for an inner 
lining, and the four or five bluish white eggs, profusely marked with reddish 
brown, are always softly bedded by fine grasses. 

The Sweet Singer does not always use the best of judgment in choosing 
the structure that is to hold its nest, though this I have found applies strictly 
to the second nest built in middle or late June, when, being attracted to the 
flower garden by the bird-bath in the corner, a pair of Sparrows built a nest 
among the flower-heads of a bunch of feverfews, that faded and left the nest 
‘exposed at the very time that the youngsters needed the most protection. 

Much as they resent the company of humans near their homes, they made 
no objection to the strawberry basket that was secured under their nest, to keep 
it from tipping sidewise and dumping its load on the bare earth; neither did they 


92 Bird - Lore 


take fright at an old palm-leaf fan that was turned into an umbrella to supply 
the shelter that the fading flowers had promised. 

If you wish to have Song Sparrows about the house, remember that there 
is no greater lure for them than water. It may be that constant bathing is one 
of the secrets of their good health, for certain it is that they are free from many 
of the epidemics that destroy so many birds. I have seen the pair of birds 
belonging to the fan-covered nest bathing when the June twilight was so deep 
that I could not distinguish their markings, and identified them by the sharp - 
alarm note of “dick, dick!’’ and the fact that while they were splashing in the 
bath the nest, in which the young were then well-feathered, was left unguarded 
for the moment; but as soon as my motions attracted their suspicions they ap- 
peared close by and tried to scold me away and preen their soaking feathers 
at the same time. 

All through the long nesting season the Sweet Singer is an 

Its Food an insect eater, both in the feeding of its young and largely in 

its own diet, while for the rest of the year it may be counted in 

the front ranks of the Weed Warriors, and at all times it may be included among 

the birds who do no harm to the fruits of farm and garden,—such berries as 
it takes usually being of small wild varieties. 

The chief dangers that threaten this wholly lovable bird are from egg-hunting 
boys, the domestic “relapsed” cats, and the sort of civilization that not only 
cuts down woodlands for the evolution of the land to building lots, but fairly 
scarifies the field edges and roadsides, in a foolish craze for cleaning up, removing 
the wild hedges that mean so much to one’s inner sense of beauty and the pleasure 
of the eye. 

I have spoken of the adaptability to the many climates of its range of one 
species, the Eastern Song Sparrow. The changes wrought by the necessities that 
have developed many species in more widely separated parts of our country 
are very interesting and worthy to be remembered. Our Eastern bird is cloaked 
in reddish brown and with black streaks; tail with a decided reddish tinge, under 
parts streaked with black, edged with rusty brown, these streaks being so 
close in the middle of the breast as to form a large spot. Our bird is less 
than 64 inches long and has a good-sized bill. It has an unmistakable song, 
and yet, though its notes vary indefinitely even in a single bird, its quality is 
typical of the whole tribe. 

The size and plumage of the other Song Sparrows nearly a score in num- 
ber, vary with the climate and rainfall of the locality in which they are 
found,* and it is interesting to follow these variations on the map. 

Our Sweet Singer lives altogether east of the Rockies. At the extreme northerly 
portion of Alaska is found the largest bird of the tribe, the Aleutian Song 
Sparrow. 


*See Climatic Variation in Color and Size of Song Sparrows, F. M. Chapman, in Brrp-Lore, 
Vol. VI, p. 164. 


The Song Sparrows 53 


' Coming down to the coast of British Columbia and southern Alaska, where 
the rainfall is 125 inches a year, we find the Sooty Song Sparrow, the darkest 
of all in color. 

When we reach the arid regions of Nevada and Arizona, with a rainfall of 
only six inches, we find the palest of all, the Desert Song Sparrow; and, finally, 
on the Mexican—Central America border lives the Mexican Song Sparrow, 
the least of all. So, whether we live north, south, east or west, we shall have this 
sweet singer with us, who will surely reveal himself; and if we do not, at first, 
recognize his plumage, will sing his way straight into our hearts. 


DISTRIBUTION OF SONG SPARROWS 


Photographed from an exhibit in the American Museum of Natural History. 
Published by permission from the American Museum Journal. 


The Audubon Societies 


EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT 


Edited by WILLIAM DUTCHER 


Address all correspondence, and send all remittances for dues and contributions, to 
the National Association of Audubon Societies, 141 Broadway, New York City 


WE NEED 


More members in the Association, in 
order to increase our influence and our 
working fund. The question has often 
been asked by members, “What can I 
do to heip?” The reply is always, ‘Get 
some friend to join the Association.” 
If every one of our thousand members 
will do this, it will so enlarge and strengthen 
the Society that it will not be necessary 
in the future to reluctantly refuse to con- 
sider propositions for additional lines of 
bird-protection work. With the financial 
support of two or three thousand addi- 
tional members, the Association will be in 
such a position that it can commence at 
once to carry out several important plans 
that we are now compelled to ignore. 

We wish to stop Robin-shooting in 
the South during the winter and spring. 

We wish to stop Dove-shooting in all 
of the states where it is now legal to kill 
these valuable birds. 

We wish to the small 
birds from the list of game birds. 

We wish to agitate for a close season 
of five or ten years on the Wood Duck 
and Bartramian Sandpiper. 

We wish to prepare the way in all 
parts of the country for a uniform law, 
stopping shooting of every kind of game 
birds from January first to a reasonable 
open season in the fall of the year, 

We wish to increase the educational 
work through the public press. 

Above all, we wish to increase our out- 
put of educational literature to the school 
children of the continent. 

The importance of all of the above 
suggestions must be manifest to every 


remove shore 


thinking mind, and we commend them 
to the thoughtful consideration of the 
members of this Association especially, 
and to the public generally.—W. D. 


A New Bird Reservation 


There should be no limitation to the 
activities of the members of this Asso- 
ciation in seeking new tracts that can be 
set aside as bird refuges. All islands on 
the coast or in any of the interior lakes, 
especially in the great West, should be 
investigated, to ascertain whether water 
fowl or other birds nest there in any num- 
bers. If such is the case, a report should 
be sent at once to the headquarters of 
the Association in New York City. This 
is an important work that can be carried 
on by any member, and, in view of the 
fact that the nesting localities of ducks 
and shore birds in all parts of the country 
are being rapidly restricted, it is important 
that refuges should be made where they 
can still breed, in order to prevent ex- 
termination. Islands or marshes that 
cannot be used for agriculture or home- 
steading will make admirable bird-breed- 
ing reserves. A report of the character of 
the place, and the approximate number 
and kinds of birds breeding there, is all 
that is necessary in the first report. On 
its receipt, inquiry will at once be made 
in Washington as to whether the property 
still belongs to the Federal Government, 
and, if such proves to be the case, an ap- 
plication will be made to have it set aside 
as a reservation. 

One of our interested members, re- 
siding in Illinois, but who spends his 
winters south, discovered just such a tract 


(94) 


MOSQUITO INLET RESERVATION 


For Protection of Native Birds 


FLORIDA 


Embracing all mangrove and salt grass islets, shoals, sand bars 
and sand spits in Townships /6 and 17 South, Range 34 East, Florida. 
segregated by broken lines and designated Mosquito Inlet Reservation’ 


DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 
GENERAL LAND OFFICE 


Richard A. Ballinger, Commissioner. 


{DIAGRAM ATTACHED TO AND MADE A PART OF THE EXECUTIVE 
ORDER DATED FEBRUARY 24, 1908.) 


(95) 


96 Bird - 


last fall in Florida, which he reported, and 
we now have the pleasure of announcing 
that by Executive order the tract was set 
aside, and is now known as “ Mosquito 
Inlet Reservation.”’—W. D. 


Executive Order 


It is hereby ordered that all small 
mangrove and salt grass islets, shoals, 
sand bars and sand spits, situated in 
Mosquito Inlet, and in and near the 
mouths of the Halifax and Hillsboro 
rivers, in townships sixteen and seventeen 
south, range thirty-four east of the Talla- 
hassee meridian, Florida, and located 
within the area segregated by a broken 
line, and shown upon the diagram hereto 
attached and made a part of this order, 
are hereby reserved and set aside for the 
use of the Department of Agriculture as 
a preserve and breeding ground for native 
birds. This reservation to be known as 
the Mosquito Inlet Reservation. 

THEODORE ROOSEVELT. 
The White House, 
February 24, 1908. 


An Ideal Game Commission 


A state may have excellent game laws, 
but they are never self-enforcing. Ala- 
bama, however, is fortunate in having a 
commissioner who is especially active, 
and the result is that the deputy wardens 
have a like activity. It could not be other- 
wise when they periodically receive letters 
like the following: 

“Your attention is directed to the fact 
that many will attempt to hunt this month 
who have not secured a license for the 
year 1908. This violation of the license 
law, or any other, will not be tolerated by 
this department. The true sportsmen of 
the state have gladly bought hunter’s 
licenses, and all others who hunt must do 
likewise. 

“Tt will be well to inform the people 
of your county that this requirement will 
be rigidly enforced. You can best give 
publicity to this fact through the medium 
of the press, and it will be largely in the 


Lore 


interest of game preservation for you to 
converse freely with the editors of the 
papers in your county, that they may 
publish all the news relating to convictions 
and the enforcement of the law. Examine, 
and have your deputy ask to see the license 
of every one going hunting, found hunting, 
or coming from hunting. If a hunter is 
required by law to have a license and has 
not procured the same, arrest should be 
made on the spot and prosecution insti- 
gated. It is unlawful for any person to 
carry game on a train without a hunter’s 
license (see Section 42). Remember that 
all non-game birds are protected except 
those especially exempted in Section 5 of 
the game law. The time is at hand when 
Robins will be passing through Alabama, 
and those who kill these harmless songs- 
ters should be prosecuted. Enforce the 
law to the very letter, for only by this 
course can the conduct of a public officer 
be endorsed and upheld by the people 
he serves. Have your next grand jury in- 
vestigate fully all infractions of the game 
and fish laws.” 

The instructions to the wardens to 
give particular attention to the protection 
of the Robin is especially pleasing to this 
Association, in view of the fact that ir 
many other parts of the South it is re- 
ported that Robins are being killed by 
the thousands. 

Stories of this character are not always 
absolutely reliable, but so much infor- 
mation has lately been received on this 
subject that it is undoubtedly true that 
Robins are being slaughtered in large 
numbers. A valued correspondent in 
Florida writes: Robin-shooting is mostly 
done by negroes, boys and uneducated 
persons, but also by those who should be 
on a higher plane. One woman saved 
a barrel of Robins’ feathers last winter.” 
Education is needed in that section, but 
the finances of this Association will not 
at the present time permit of any special 
work along this line. Is there not some 
person in the North, where the Robin is 
one of the most cherished of the familiar 
birds, who will establish a special fund to 
be used in a campaign of education in 


The Audubon Societies 97 


the winter home of Robins, that they may 
receive there the same care that is given 
them in other parts of the country ?>—W.D. 


Alien License Law 


Apropos of the discussion now going on 
in several states in regard to license laws, 
it may be noted that, as might be expected, 
the strongest reason for a high alien 
license is furnished by the actions of 
aliens themselves. The most important 
feature of the license is not revenue 
(though that has its importance and is 
equitable), but the fact that it restricts 
many aliens (largely Italians) from hunt- 
ing at all, and enables wardens to more 
easily investigate the hunting done by 
those who continue to go gunning. 

Coming from a country devoid of ap- 
preciation of the economic value of birds, 
and where the smallest of feathered 
creatures are considered legitimate prey 
and food for man, Italians are strongly 
inclined to shoot the song birds of this 
country, as the most easily secured dainty 
to add to a none too varied larder. Despite 
the plea that has been made for them by 
some of the newspapers, viciousness, 
quite as much as ignorance of the law, is 
shown by these aliens, as evinced by fre- 
quent assaults on wardens who are en- 
forcing the laws. The case of game war- 
den, Daniel Edwards, of Beacon Falls, 
Conn., whose face was filled with shot 
by an Italian violator of the game law, 
is still fresh in mind. This is. perhaps, the 
most atrocious case, but the news items 
coming into the National Association 
office contain very many accounts of lesser 
assaults and threatened assaults on war- 
dens. 

Some months since, one of our special 
wardens, an enthusiastic bird student 
and earnest protectionist, was trying to 
check some of the violations he had fre- 
quently witnessed on his outing trips near 
New York. On September 14, last, he 
“found an Italian, at Rockaway Beach, 
about one and one-half miles from the 
railroad station, using two wounded Semi- 
palmated Sandpipers as decoys. I told 


him that he was violating the law, but he 
pretended not to understand me. I. 
picked up one of the struggling birds, 
when he said, in fairly good English, 
‘let go, or I shoot!’ I walked toward him 
holding the bird behind me, intending to. 
explain the case to him. We were then 
about ten or fifteen yards apart. He dis- 
charged one barrel of his gun, intending, 
I believe, to scare me. Although most of 
the shot went wild, four pellets lodged in 
my right leg, below the knee. Seeing that 
he had hit me, he turned and ran, with 
his bag, in the direction of Jamaica Bay, 
where there are numerous small houses. 
I tried to follow him, but my leg incon- 
venienced me and I was soon out-dis- 
tanced. Returning to the beach, I killed 
the remaining bird, having killed the 
other while talking to the Italian. I then 
removed two of the pellets, being unable 
to dislodge the other two, as the calf of 
my leg was already inflamed. I hurried 
home and dressed my leg, removing the 
other two shot next morning. 

I have been to Rockaway twice since then 
but I have not encountered my assailant 
again.” 

An alien license, high enough to be al- 
most prohibitive, in all states where aliens 
are found in numbers (which means 
almost every state in the Union), is one 
of the most important measures of game 
legislation, not only in the interests of 
the preservation of game, but also for the 
better safe-guarding of life and limb of 
the wardens.—B. S. BowpisH. 


The Plume Trade* 


The official report of the feather sale of 
August 2d states that there was a small 
quantity of ‘Osprey’ feathers offered, 
and only a small attendance of buyers. 
The quantity catalogued was 315 packages. 
The Birds-of-Paradise offered numbered 
3,831, besides seven packages; all sold at 
a decline in prices. Albatross wing quills 
fetched $d. to 33d. each. Bustard wing 
quills 4d. to 44d. a bundle, the pro- 
vision of quills being very large. Emu 
skins were tos. each, and Crested Pi- 


98 Bird-Lore 


geons 6s. each. A peculiarly deplorable 
feature of the sale was the offer of four 
packages of Lyre-bird tails; this beautiful 
bird is found only in Australia, and is 
being driven deeper and deeper into the 
bush in ever-decreasing numbers, on 
account of the persecution it meets with 
in the interests of the plume-trade. 

Birds-of-Paradise continues to be a 
leading feature of the plume sales in 
London, and will apparently continue to 
be so until the last of these exquisite birds 
has found its sepulchre in a Houndsditch 
warehouse, unless measures are taken 
for its absolute protection throughout 
New Guinea. At the sale on October 15th, 
over 7,000 were offered, and nearly all 
““sold with good competition;” for that 
of December 17th, 4,667 were catalogued. 
The packages of “‘Osprey”’ feathers num- 
bered 548 and 200 respectively, a large 
proportion being advertised as “East 
Indian.’ Other features of the two sales 
were 100 Lyre-bird tails from Australia, 
6 Impeyan Pheasants (presumably from 
India, whence their exportation is illegal), 
and a large number of Coronata Pigeons 
and of Albatross quill feathers. 


Plume-Hunters in the Soudan* 


The French government has, it is an- 
nounced, decided to supply funds for a 
thorough test of the question whether the 
Ostrich can be successfully domesticated 
in the French Soudan. Anxiety on the 
subject has arisen from the fact that the 
natives of Upper Senegal and Niger are, 
at the instigation of the plume-hunters, 
rapidly exterminating both Ostrich and 
Heron. Dr. Decorse, who has been 
investigating the matter for the Govern- 
ment, accordingly recommends an effort 
to farm the former bird, as is done so 
‘commonly in South Africa, by the estab- 
lishment of large ranches where the birds 
may be kept as much as possible in the 
natural state. With regard to the Herons, 
only one course is possible if the birds are 


* From ‘‘ Bird Notes and News,” organ of the 
Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, London, 
England. Autumn and winter numbers, 1907. 


to be preserved. The hunting of them is 
to be entirely prohibited for two years, 
and reservations are to be set apart in 
which the natives are never to be permitted 
to hunt the species. 


Attracting Birds 


The writer is preparing for the National 
Association of Audubon Societies a mono- 
graph on ‘“‘Methods of Attracting Birds 
Around Our Homes.” The purpose is to 
make this a comprehensive summary of 
what has been done by bird students 
along this line, and to collect in one pam- 
phlet the results of these experiences. 
This is intended especially to be helpful 
to teachers and children. To accomplish 
the desired end, the writer will need 
the codperation of the readers of BrIRD- 
Lore, and, accordingly, he would make 
the request that those who have taken 
means to attract birds around their 
homes would kindly send him a brief 
summary of their experiences. Due credit 


will be given for all contributions. The 
following outline suggests some of 
the topics on which information is 
desired: 


1. Feeding Winter Birds.*—Kinds of 
feed tried; kinds preferred by birds. 
Description of feeding trough; its location. 
List of birds that feed; birds tamed to 
feed from hand. Experiences with English 
Sparrows; devices tried to prevent them 
from feeding. 

2. Providing Nesting Houses.*—Most 
successful kinds of houses; best location, 
and height from ground. Kind of birds 
using houses. Special adaptations to par- 
ticular kinds of birds. Open boxes and 
shelves for Robin, Phoebe, Swallow, ete. 


Experiences with [English Sparrows; 
devices to keep them from _ using 
houses. 


3. Drinking and Bathing Fountains.*— 
Method of construction; size; location. 
List of birds using it. How protected from 
cats. 

—GILBERT H. TRAFTON, Passaic, N.J. 


* Photographs desired in addition to those 
which have already appeared in BirD-LoRBE, 


THE GUIDE TO NATURE 


AND TO NATURE LITERATURE 


An illustrated monthly magazine for adults (page 
of the size of the standard literary magazines). Sub- 
scription, $1.50 per year. Single copy, 15 cents. No 
free copies. Less than one year at single copy rates. 

The time has come for the publication of a popular 
and accurate magazine of nature, natural science and 
outdoor interests. The workers have become so 
numerous, the fields so diversified, the advancements 
so important and the publications so profuse, that there 
is positive need of a magazine to unify and co6érdinate 
all. ‘he general reader and the casual student and the 
lover of nature desire a survey of the whole field. The 
specialist reads the periodicals of his own special 
department and desires to know in a general way what 
other workers are doing and observing, yet cannot — 
spare money to subscribe to so many magazines nor 
time to read them. 


“The Guide to Nature” 


will supply the need of the general reader, the dilet- 
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Send for Prospectus giving full particulars. 
EDWARD F. BIGELOW, Managing Editor. 


Address *° THE GUIDE TO NATURE” 
Stamford, Connecticut 


“Tf I could give a child but one book this year, it would be this,” 
was said of 


MABEL OSGOOD WRIGHT'S 
GRAY LADY AND THE BIRDS 


STORIES OF THE The book will be welcomed by adults 
BIRD YEAR almost as heartily as by younger readers. 
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With thirty-six plates in Rais 
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half-tone, and twelve } acchs 4 

It is accurate and, on the scientific side, 
dependable, but it is far more than that; 
it is a fascinating book of stories, a glimpse 


in colors, from studies 


made for the National 


Audubon Association into the riches of poetry and fancy asso- 
under the supervision ciated with feathered things. 

of its President, Decorated cloth, xx + 437 pages 

Mr. William Dutcher $1.75 net; by mail, $1.90 


By MABEL OSGOOD WRIGHT, author of 
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This was described by C. H. M., in Science, as “by far the best bird book for 


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THE MACMILLAN COMPANY, Publishers, New York 


Mrs. MABEL OsGOopD WRIGHT’S Stories 


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Among Other Issues in the Two Series of 


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The Foremost Recent Book on Animals 


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LIFE OF ANIMALS: The 
Mammals 


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WILD NEIGHBORS: Outdoor Studies in 
the United States 


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Free Press. 


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NEW YORK 


A BOOK FOR THE SEASON 


THE WARBLERS of 
NORTH AMERICA 


By FRANK M. CHAPMAN 


Associate Curator of Ornithology and Mammalogy, American Museum of Natural History 


With the codperation of other Ornithologists 


With 24 full-page, colored plates, by Louis Agassiz Fuertes and 
Bruce Horsfall, illustrating the male, female and young 
plumages of every species, and eight full-page 
plates of nests and eggs. 


THE INTRODUCTION) 


treats of the General Characters, 


Plumages, Distribution, Migra- | 
tion, Songs, Nesting Habits, Food | 


and Mortality of Warblers. 


THE BIOGRAPHIES 


average about five pages for each 
species, andcontain sections on dis- 
tingushing characters, together with 
| references to pertinent literature. 


» ‘THE NATION” SAYS: 


We have had many books on the Dirds 
of the United States and even on re- 
stricted portions of the country, but this 
is the first untechnical monograph on any 
single group of American birds. 
Wood Warblers, or Muiotiltidz, com- 
prise a typically New World group, 
extending from Alaska to Argentina and 
numbering some 155 species. Of these, 
fifty-five are found north of Mexico; and 
it is of these, with their nineteen addi- 
tional subspecies, that this volume treats. 
It bids fair to remain an authority for a 
long time. 

No keys to species are given, for the 
excellent reason that every species in 


male, female, and often in young plu- | 


mage, is represented in color plates by 
Fuertes and Horsfall—12q figures in all 
—excellent both as to drawing and 
color. Among the contributions to the 
book, Gerald Thayer’s notes on songs 
and habits are especially valuable. In 


Large 8vo., 320 pages. 


The | 


! the discussion of plumage, the mention 
of the indications of common ancestry 
betrayed by the nestling types of colora- 
tion is of considerable importance, as are 
also the suggestions as to the probable 
origin of each genus. 

A list of bibliographical references 
rounds out the treatment in a way which 
| leaves nothing to be desired. 

The nomenclature followed is that of 
Ridgway’s ‘‘Birds of North and Middle 
America’’— the most logical and all- 
sufficient which has yet been evolved. 

Mr. Chapman’s thorough knowledge 
of the group, together with the free use 
| of the results of co-workers, has given us 
in a form easy to consult, practically all 
that we know about the northern species 
of Mniotiltide. To the technical orni- 
| thologist, as well as to the amateur with 

only the Myrtle and Yellow Warblers on 
his ‘‘list,’’ this volume will be of con- 
| stant use. 


Cloth, $3 net. 


Postage, 20 cents additional 


D. APPLETON AND 
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COMPANY, Publishers 
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MAY—JUNE, 1908 


EDITED BY 


FRANK M. CHAPMAN 


PUBLISHED FOR THE AUDUBON SOOIRKTIBES 


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COPYRIGHT, 1908. BY FRANK M. CHAPMAN 


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Bird= Lore 


May-June, 1908 


CONTENTS 


GENERAL ARTICLES PAGE 
FRONTISPIECE IN COLOR—LEAST, ALDER, YELLOW-BELLIED AND GREEN-CRESTED 
REV CATCHERS tastes vaste tos sist seein eae eee eee eee Louis Agassiz Fuertes.. 

A FAMILY OF BARRED OWLS. lilisteated Err Faigieaeis William Cogswell Clarke.. 99 

Nicut Heron, Flashlight Photograph pi mscmee- sari -tl\elsor om oer Henry R. Carey.. 102 

THE BROWNS DHRASH ER. si astrated trate paaei leet teens seat Charles E. Heil.. 103 

ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAK. Illustration ..............-.2..-- Warren C. Tudbury.. 105 

A BITTERN STUDY 22 )A525% celetopicrcisier ees sa i aeeie oon ele Oia ieee Agnes M. Learned.. 106 

AD BITTERN PHOLOGRADHO. </-0id <6 = 2 orereyata is wenielorators isle ereiniers a stein ott R. M. Strong.. 110 

GREEN Hirroncanp NEsm alillustrattoms-cita-te-tay- ere aero ee George Shiras, 3d.. 110 

NESTING HABITS OF HENSLOW’S SPARROW .......-2.------- E. Seymour Woodruff... 111 
THE MIGRATION OF FLYCATCHERS. Fourth Paper. Lllustrated with colored plates 

from drawings by Louis Agassiz Fuertes and Bruce Horsfali..... W.W. Cooke.. 114 

THE MASSACHUSETTS AUDUBON SOCIETY’S BIRD LISTS .........-00----2-200----=-> 118 

FAMITIAR NAMES OF (BIRDS sacpicie micicicte «lois coun: ocore oles etalon teee P. B. Peabody.. 122 

NOTES FROM ‘FIELD AND STUDY 3 0. reo aee Meet gees pee ee eee 123 


THe SKkyrarK Pro TEM, Edith M. ’ Thomas; “SEA. Brrps "AS HomInc PIGEONS, 
Charles H. Townsend; MortTALITY AMONG BirRDs, Illustrated, T. Gilbert 
Pearson; HUMMINGBIRD Notes, Isabel McC. Lemmon; NEST OF Woop THRUSH, 
Illustrated, George P. Perry; ‘ALBINO FLICKERS, Illustrated, Loren C. Petry; 
IDENTIFICATION SKETCHES, Marian Warner Wildman; PROTHONOTARY WaAR- 
BLER IN CENTRAL PARK, "Anne A. Crolius; ToFrTED TITMOUSE IN CENTRAL 
Park, Anne A. Crolius; Tue Prarrre HorNED LARK IN ConNECcTICcUT, Illus- 
trated, Robert S. Judd; WHAT THE STARLING Doers AT Home, S. H. Goodwin; 
A SOUTHERN STARLING RECORD, Thomas R. Hill. 


BOOK NEWS AND REVIEWS 352.23 2600020 ease eee ne ee eee og ee eee 131 
Mrs. MILLER’s THE BIRD OvuR BROTHER; HENSHAW’ s POLICEMEN OF THE AIR: 
Birp Books IN THE LIBRARY OF FREDERIC GALLATIN, JR.; THE ORNI- 
THOLOGICAL MAGAZINES; Book NEws. 


EDITORIAL . eat: Se tisteg @ 3 shea Sar aleelee seis ese ae emma 


AUDUBON SOCIETIES SCHOOL DEPARIMENT ...................... 200 cee cece eee 135 
Birp Houses AND SCHOOL CHILDREN, Illustrated; Goon Work IN A PENNSYLVANIA 
ScHOOL; AMERICAN NATURE Srupy SOCIETY; oN COURSE IN BirD STuDY. 


EDUCATIONAL LEAFLET NO. 32. THE Barn SWALLOW, with colored plate by Bruce 
ET orsfall <-> « BPR se Ria arene rhs SOAS ED Cou CaeT DL BOS Mabel Osgood Wright.. 138 


AUDUBON SOCIETIES—EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT ......................--22 0-02 42 
Two New Birp RESERVATIONS; BIRD REFUGES; FIELD WoRK; RESERVATION 
NEws; LEGISLATION PROTECTION OF WILD Fow1; A GooD EXAMPLE; AN ACTIVE 
GAME WARDEN; THE VALUE OF THE NiGHT Hawk; THE DESTRUCTION OF 
PLuME Birps; THE DESTRUCTION OF LAPWINGS; AN INTERESTING COMPETITION 


«"4Manuscripts intended for publication, books, etc., for review and exchanges, should be 
sent to the Editor, at the American Museum of Natural History, 77th Street and 8th Avenue, 
New York Cily, IMS Se 


SPECIAL NOTICE 


We take the liberty of sending this number of BIRD- LORE 
to subscribers whose subscription expired April 1, 1908, 


in the belief that the matter of renewal has been overlooked. 
On renewal, a copy of the Colored Wild Turkey Plate 
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1. Least FLycaTcHErR. 2. ALDER FLYCATCHER, FALL. 3. ALDER FLYCATCHER, SPRING. 
4. YELLOW-BELLIED FLYCATCHER. 5. GREEN-CRESTED FLYCATCHER. 


Hird -Lore 


DEVOTED TO THE STUDY AND PROTECTION OF BIRDS 


OrricialL ORGAN OF THE AUDUBON SOCIETIES 


Vol. X MAY— JUNE, 1908 No. 3 


A Family of Great Owls 


By WILLIAM COGSWELL CLARKE 


HE Hoo! hoo! hoo! of the Barred Owl, issuing 
<> from the depths of the wood on a cloudy summer’s 
day, or at eventime, usually attracts attention 
and passing comment. To some it is a mournful sound, 
while to those who have a taste for the fields, it is most 
pleasing and effective in giving a touch of the wild woods 
to the surroundings. For the sake of those who have re- 
gard for the big bird, I venture to publish the following short sketch. 

One Sunday, late in April, 1902, we were driving through a well-grown 
patch of hard wood in Schraalenburgh, New Jersey, and, as we passed along, 
a companion had the good luck to spy a fluffy, grayish white object at the foot 
of a large white oak. This tree stood among others only twenty feet back from 
the roadside. Hastening to the spot, we found a partially grown Barred Owl, 
which had fallen out of its nest, either through some accident or because the 
nest was naturally insecure. Judging from the mentality later displayed by 
this baby owl, I rather hesitate to criticize the wisdom of its parents in selecting 
such a location, and in building only a mere suggestion of a nest in an open 
fork made by three limbs projecting from the main trunk of the tree. The little 
one, not at all hurt by the fall, was at once adopted and taken home. 

Because of many past experiences with several varieties of young Hawks, 
I was most agreeably surprised at the extreme gentleness and friendliness dis- 
played from the first by this little Owl. He was still in his downy coat, and, as 
yet, too young to stand on his legs. We fed him on fresh meat, supplemented, 
when possible, by mice and deceased young chickens and ducks. The importance 
of feeding growing Hawks, Crows, and Owls on these little animals is well 
known. If these carnivorous birds do not receive small, readily digested bones, 
their supply of lime salts will be so meager that rickets will result; that is, the 
developing bones in the young bird will be structurally so weak that they will 
either break or bend and become deformed, as the increasing weight of the grow- 
ing bird is thrown upon them. I remember well a young Red-shouldered Hawk 


100 Bird - Lore 


that came to grief from a too liberal supply of butcher’s meat without sufficient 
bone to provide lime. 

Our Owl thrived from the first, and, until he was old enough to go about 
out-of-doors, he slept at night in a large basket in the house. Since he insisted 
on being fed at daybreak, I kept him near my bed, and, when he woke me, 
calling, I would satisfy him. After that he would promptly go to sleep again. 
Most of his days were spent taking short naps, fixing his feathers, stretching his 
wings, and trying to fly. 

As he grew, we all obtained considerable amusement from watching his 
various antics. One interesting performance was to place him on the back of 
a gentle horse quietly eating grass on the lawn. The Owl would look about 
and feel very much at home, except that every time “ Winnie’’ turned to drive 
the flies away, he would scold her head with great energy, as if it were a strange 
animal attacking the one on which he was perched. 

He also furnished no end of entertainment for the hens, who used to form 
an admiring circle and stare at him. I am sure that what the hens said would 
have been interesting if we could have known it. Judging from his actions, the 
amusement obtained on the part of the hens was reciprocated. He would look 
from hen to hen, continually bobbing his head up and down, always moving 
his neck from side to side. His head thus moved in a perpendicular line each 
time, parallel to the line just described. This motion was employed whenever 
he wished to inspect critically any object at a distance. 

Our Owl, apparently, could see quite well even in bright sunshine; and, 
when sitting quietly on the piazza, he would follow, with the motion of his head, 
some one who might be passing along the road, which was about one hundred 
yards distant. 

As he grew and learned to fly, he went at large while people were about. 
At other times we shut him up, because we feared that a stranger might shoot 
him. He certainly surprised me by his friendliness, gentleness and intelligence, 
although, it must be confessed, that as regards the latter quality, he never equaled 
any of my Crows, Bluejays, or Purple Grackles. 

Our Owl, to my knowledge, never caught any birds, or obtained food for 
himself in any way, but depended exclusively for his living upon us. 

He reached his full growth in about three months, and, from that time on, 
simply perfected himself in the art of flying. While he lived with us, he made 
use of only two sounds: one, resembling a hissing noise, he employed when 
frightened or when he wished to protest; the other, a high-pitched, short whistle, 
rapidly repeated, he used when he was pleased or hungry, or when he wished 
to attract attention. 

In the fall, realizing that he might be shot if he were free about the grounds, 
and yet hating to shut him up, we decided to put him back in the woods where 
his family had lived. So, early in September, after giving him a square meal, 
we released him near the place where he was hatched. He flew to a tree and 


A Family of Barred Owls IOI 


began to bob his head up and down, becoming at once interested in his new 
surroundings, while we drove rapidly away. We have always hoped that he met 
with a friendly Owl who gave him all the necessary lessons in woodcraft. 

The following spring, early in April, I went to the same spot. Knocking, 
from custom, on the trunk of a large, partially dead maple nearby, to see who 
might be at home, at once a 
Barred Owl flew out from the 
top. 

This tree was situated ideally 
for its purpose, on the edge of a 
dense swamp, surrounded by 
a growth of small maples and 
other hard wood. Climbing to 
the top, I found an extensive 
hollow, at the bottom of which 
were two newly hatched Owls 
and one egg. The old Owl re- 
turned during my investigation 
and watched me with consider- 
able interest. I went back the 
following week and removed the 
unhatched egg, which promptly 
exploded in my pocket, proving 
to my satisfaction that it would 
not have hatched. After that we 
visited the nest each week until 
the young birds flew away. 

The remnants of food found 
in the nest consisted of many 
feathers and one large sucker. paral eae ec AEP: 
Among the feathers which could See cage alle 9 calla 
be identified with certainty, there were, I am sorry to say, those of Robins and 
Flickers. We could not find the remains of any quadruped in the nest, and, 
because of the water which partly surrounded the foot of the tree, there was no 
other evidence preserved as to the nature of the Owls’ food. 

On our visits to the nest, we always saw one old bird, and, occasionally, both. 
They each kept a respectful distance from us and never made any effort to de- 
fend their home. Because of a gang of Crows, who had one or two nests nearby, 
the Owls were very chary of showing themselves. On two or three of our visits, 
they were seen, and what a hazing they received from their black neighbors! 
This certainly is one good reason that Owls have for keeping so shady in the 
daytime. 

The third spring following our introduction, the Owls were back at the 


102 Bird - Lore 


came stand in the broken maple. I well remember with what acute interest we 
ranged ourselves about the tree for a good view of our friends, if by chance they 
might be at home. True enough, at the first knock, out the old lady came, with 
little, if any, hurry, just as if only a week had passed since we last saw her, while 
really a year had gone by since we had shooed her away from her crop of owlets. 
This year, the third since we had found the Owl family, two eggs were laid and 
two Owls were successfully raised. 

The fourth year, back we went to the same spot, but the Owls had not re- 
turned; nor, much to my regret, have they done so since that time. 

The question might be asked, why do we speak of these Owls as if they 
were one family, returning year after year? In reply, it must be admitted that 
this fact can not be proven, though it seems reasonable to suppose that it was 
the same family. On the other hand, it can not be disproven. Doubtless, most 
observers have known particular spots where, in the proper season, the hoo! hoo! 
of the Barred Owl is heard year after year; and, even if the nesting-site is not 
known, the locality is looked upon as the home of a single pair of birds. 

Our own Owl family has either moved away or else has fallen victim to 
the many people always willing to “try a shot,” as they say, at almost any bird, 
but, particularly, at one as large as a Barred Owl. The old maple, which had 
stood so many years, and, apparently, had furnished shelter to many birds and 
animals long before I found it, is now gone; succumbing, as many another home 
tree has done, to the so-called improvements, commended by so many and, 
unfortunately, regretted by only a few. 


IMMATURE NIGHT HERON 
Flashlight by Henry R. Carey, Portsmouth, N. H. 


The Brown Thrasher 


‘a, By CHARLES E. HEIL, Needham, Mass. 


Pa 


HE Brown Thrasher is a common, every-day bird, from May to Septem- 

ber; in West Roxbury, Roslindale, and Needham, Massachusetts. It 

“arrives in this vicinity about the first week in May; a few may sometimes 

be seen during the last week of April, but so far as I have observed, this is 

unusual. They generally arrive in pairs, and, when first seen among the under- 

growth of pasture and roadside, are very shy and suspicious, and show no 

sign of that bravery which some of them later display in defense of their young. 

As they flit across the road, from thicket to thicket, at this time of the year, 
they frequently make me think of a reddish wind-blown leaf. 

Some of the birds begin housekeeping a few days after their arrival, as I have 
found a bird sitting on four eggs on May to. Nests are composed of coarse twigs, 
bark and dead leaves, and, at times, dry grass is used; the lining is generally 
fine roots; rarely, it is a combination of fine roots and fine twigs, and one nest 
I examined was lined with bark and dry grass. As a rule, the structures are 
well made, but some of the ground nests, when taken up, do not retain their 
shape. The favorite nesting localities are neglected, overgrown pastures and the 
borders of woods. Most of the nests I have found were placed on the ground, 
but they are frequently built in bushes and tangles of vines, and, on rare occa- 
sions, a nest may be found in a tree. Nests in bushes are not difficult to find, 
but those placed on the ground are very well concealed. A good way to find the 
latter is to pick out a likely looking pasture, beat over it, and, in this way, flush 
the bird, which is a close sitter, from the nest. 

The eggs are whitish, with profuse and even specks of reddish brown; but, 
when seen from a distance, strongly resemble ovoids of some plain brown wood. 
I have never found more than five eggs in a nest; four are usually laid and de- 
position occurs daily. Incubation usually commences before the last egg is laid, 
and in each of three instances under my observation, lasted about thirteen 
days. In localities where enemies abound, the young leave the nest at the end 
of ten or twelve days, and conceal themselves in the underbrush until able to 
fly. At this period, they are much like the parents in color, but do not have the 
yellow iris, this coming about the time of the August molt. Usually, two broods 
are reared during the season, which, beginning in early May, continues until 
well into July. While the young are in the nest, the parents generally are very 
brave, flying at and, sometimes, hitting the intruder, and they look fierce enough 
with their staring yellow eyes and sharp curving bills, to frighten away many small . 
boys who would, otherwise, rob their homes. Nuttall says: ‘“ One of the parents, 
usually the male, seems almost continually occupied in guarding against any 
dangerous intruder.” The appearance of the human intruder is heralded by 
the whistled Wheeu, which is followed by the loud kissing note if the person 
continues to advance. If an enemy gets close to some nests, the owners seem 


(103) 


Nest and eggs of Brown Thrasher. 4. Brown Thrasher, twelve days old. 


i 

2. Brown Thrasher on nest. 5. A tame Brown Thrasher. 

3. Brown Thrasher, nine days old. 6. Brown Thrasher on nest. 
7. Young (seven days old) and parent 


Photographed by Christina J. Heil 
(104) 


The Brown Thrasher 105 


to lose all timidity, and, uttering their peculiar, hoarse cry, which sounds to me 
more like the sharp tearing of a piece of stout cloth than anything else, fly fiercely 
at him. I have had the skin of my hand broken by their sharp bills when exam- 
ining nests containing young. This attack is conducted with such pathetic des- 
peration and is so touching that it makes me feel heartily ashamed of myself 
(when I am its object) and I oftimes beat a hasty retreat. 

Much has been said and written in praise of the Brown Thrasher’s song. 
Perched in some tree—tall or short, it matters not to him so long as he can 
stand among its topmost branches—he pours forth his medley. I must, to be 
entirely candid, confess that I do not like it. To my ear it is a confused and queer 
mixture of rapidly repeated notes. As Mr. Torrey says: “High notes and low 
notes, smooth notes and rough notes, all jumbled together in the craziest fashion.”’ 
Nevertheless, it has the quality of sincerity, and I go away feeling that the singer 
has earnestly tried to do his best. 

The food of this species consists of caterpillars, beetles, grasshoppers, and 
fruit of various kinds. In late August I have watched them among the rum- 
cherry trees, gulping down cherries—pulp and stone together. 

Cats and blacksnakes undoubtedly destroy some of the young in my neigh- 
borhood. On one of my rambles I found a nest with the bird sitting on three 
eggs, at the foot of a white birch sapling in a pasture near some houses. Two 
days later the young came from the shells; the next day I found an empty nest 
and scattered about it were the long tail-feathers and many small brown ones 
of a Thrasher. I suspect the author of this tragedy was a cat which sometimes 
prowled about the pasture. This species begins to leave during September. By 
the end of October, all Thrashers (with the possible exception of some abnormal 
fellow) have departed for the South. 


ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAK 

This bird was benumbed by the cold and went to sleep while I was focusing it To get this picture 
I had to touch the bird to wake him up. After a sun-bath of half an hour he flew up into a near-by 
tree and became quite lively. Golden’s Bridge, N. Y., May 12, 1907. By Warren C. Tudbury. 


A Bittern Study 


By AGNES M. LEARNED, Boston, Mass. 


HE first time that we saw the Bittern at Pleasant Valley Farm was late 
in the summer of 1906—too late to study his habits—so we resolved 
that we would see him as early in the spring as possible. We began to 
watch for him so early in the season that it seemed as though he would never 
come; but at last we were rewarded, when, on May 8, about 5 o’clock in the 
afternoon, he made his appearance in the cranberry bog quite near the house. 
We did not see him fly down, but heard the booming. The whole family had been 
listening for him, and at the first sound, the news went round that the Bittern 
had come! The younger members of the family hurried out, down to the edge 
of the bog, where we could see him very plainly. At our approach he became 
immovable, and we found that his ability to keep perfectly still was much greater 
than ours. As we were very anxious to see him at short range when he was boom- 
ing, we decided that all but one of the party should leave the vantage point 
behind a big apple tree (which ever after we called the Bittern tree), and thus 
test the Bittern’s ability to count! 

The experiment was a success, and it was only a few moments before he 
began to grow less rigid (he had been standing all this time with his long neck 
thrust straight in the air, and, at a distance, looked more like a stick than he did 
like a bird); then, growing more confident, walked about a little, then standing 
perfectly still, he gazed at the water and seemed to meditate. 

All at once, the feathers on his neck quivered, he looked as though he was 
taking one or two long, gulping breaths, his bill snapped loudly and quickly, 
and, with contortions which seemed ludicrous, he said pump-a-lunk, pump-a- 
lunk, pump-a-lunk. This was the beginning of our acquaintance with the Bittern, 
and we never tired of his company. 

For many days he arrived about five in the afternoon; for quite a while we 
wondered how long he stayed, then a wakeful member of the family heard him 
in the wee sma’ hours, and, later, the early riser of the family saw him in the 
brook that drains the bog. As the season advanced, he boomed with great vigor 
and many times at each performance; for instance, one evening he boomed 
seven times in succession; he also became less shy, and one afternoon we had the 
pleasure of seeing him mount a tussock of grass and perform. Sometimes his 
booming would sound like an old wooden pump, and sometimes like the driving 
of a stake. After the Whippoorwill arrived, the night was vocal with their 
alternate performances, and when, on rare occasions, they performed together, 
the effect was weird beyond description. 

Although the Bittern came regularly about five o’clock every afternoon, we 
neither saw nor heard him come or go, for there was no “hurrying sound of 
wings” to announce his arrival or departure, and it was a marvel to us that so 
large a bird could fly so silently. One afternoon two of us decided that, if possi- 


(106) 


A Bittern Study 107 


ble, we would see him alight in the bog; so about half an hour before we thought 
he would arrive from the lower meadow (where we could hear him, but not see 
him), we took our places under the Bittern tree and waited nearly an hour for 
him; then, duties calling us, we left, only to hear, before we were hardly up to 
the house, the familiar pump-a-lunk from the bog. 

We had seen only one Bittern, and, as in our bird books there was no differ- 
ence in the description of the male and female, we could not tell which it was, 
but supposed it was the male. 

The cranberry bog lies northwest of the house, and southeast of the house 
there is a pretty little pond, made by damming up the trout brook that crosses 
the farm. At one point this brook runs within one hundred feet of the house, 
and here we saw, one perfect Sunday morning in June (the 9th), the Bittern; 
but not as we had seen him before, for on his back he wore two clusters of beau- 
tiful white plumes that fluttered softly in the morning air. 

How proud he was! He stood perfectly still; he waded in the brook; he walked 
slowly on its bank, all the time as conscious of his adorning as any beau, and 
perfectly willing that the entire family should admire him—from the piazza. 
He posed under the old apple tree beside the brook; the combination of grasses, 
gnarled tree trunk and Bittern making a veritable Japanese scene. 

We were surprised and delighted, and went at once to our bird books to see 
what the beautiful white feathers were called; but, alas, not a book mentioned 
them! and later research at the library failed to reveal any information. Only 
one spoke of them and said that Bitterns did not wear nuptial plumes. After 
much thought, we decided that the Bittern must be like its relatives, the Egrets, 
and wear nuptial plumes. We thought that the white feathers, or plumes, grew 
from the region of the scapulars; there were several on each side, they were not 
over five inches long and not less than three, and were soft and downy, and with 
the aid of a glass we could see them flutter in the light wind. 

Many questions filled our minds: Had this beautiful creature just arrived ? 
Would it stay awhile? Where was the solitary bird that had been with us so long? 
Was it still here, or had it shyly hidden itself away ? 

At least two of these questions were answered, for the next morning we saw 
the Bittern of the Decoration stalking majestically through the cranberry bog, 
and a few days later flushed from the side of the pond a Bittern with no white 
plumes, so we felt sure there must be two. 

After this we neither heard nor saw the Bitterns for a long time, but we hoped 
they nested in the cranberry bog. Our hopes were realized, for when the grass 
around the bog was cut, the 30th of July, the men saw two small Bitterns in 
the grass. One of them, sad to relate, was caught by the mowing machine and 
killed before the driver knew of its presence, and, in order to save the life of 
the other, who courted a like fate, he caught it, tied its legs and laid it in a safe 
place, and, later, brought them both to the house. A Bittern on the lawn! In 
our wildest dreams we had never thought of that! 


108 ‘Bird - Lore 


He was a most ungainly looking creature as he squatted on the lawn, wings 
outspread and bill snapping, ready to defend himself against any foe. His 
feathers were all quite buffy and were fluffy about the shoulders; his legs and 
feet were bright green’sh yellow or yellowish green, and very, very clean. His 
bill was yellow and he had a yellow ring about the eye. 

We meant to take him back to his home, but he escaped and went down to 
the brook. The next day we saw the old bird fly up toward the pond and we 
supposed she had found him. ; 

One day shortly after the capture of the young Bittern, we went out to the 
pond to see the water-lilies, and tried to get some that grew near the bank 
(the pond was so low that there was a muddy margin of a foot or more all around 
it). Stooping to get a perfect flower, we were startled by a peculiar sound— 
k-r-r-r-r-r. We could not imagine what it could be; nothing was to be seen, so 
we moved along the side cautiously, when k-r-r-r-r-r came the sound again. 
This time we decided that it came from a clump of water-grasses; so, very cau- 
tiously, we advanced and, for the third time, heard k-r-r-r-r-r, and looking over 
the clump saw the young Bittern squatting on the mud, wings outspread, on the 
alert for the enemy. | 

The second time we saw one of the old birds fly up the brook to the pond, 
we hurried along to get another glimpse; but not a bird could we see, so turned 
away reluctantly, giving one last backward look. That moment of turning away 
was the old bird’s opportunity (although how she knew we were walking away 
will always be a mystery), for, as we gave that last backward look, we saw her 
make a long arm of her bill and place some dainty tidbit far down the throat of 
her offspring, looking for all the word, as she did so, like Mrs. Squeers adminis- 
tering sulphur and molasses to the little boys. 

The charm of the Bittern drew us often to the pond, and one day when there 
was no wind to ruffle the water and no clouds to dull the reflections, we seated 
ourselves to admire the natural beauties of the place. The trees, shrubs and rocks 
on the opposite side of the pond were perfectly reflected in its mirror-like surface, 
and we were lost in admiration of the scene, and almost forgot the Bittern, when 
suddenly we realized that she was part of the landscape. How daintily she moved, 
picking her way in and out between the rocks, at times so perfectly reflected in 
the water that we could see the markings on the feathers. She was in no haste 
and would lift her foot out of the water in such a way that there was not a ripple 
made. When she reached a point exactly opposite us, she seemed to ‘realize 
that she was being watched and flew slowly back to the head of the pond, which, 
with its muddy margin, made an excellent feeding ground, and it was here 
that we flushed the Bittern for the last time that season. 


Photographed by R. M. Strong 


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A Bittern Photograph 


(See preceding page) 


sink Lake, Ill., on June 8, 1907, of an American Bittern on its nest. While 

pushing a boat through some marsh vegetation in this lake, I discovered 
the bird as seen in the picture. I was accompanied by students in bird-study 
from the University of Chicago. We approached the nest carefully, taking pic- 
tures at two or three intervals and constantly expecting the bird to fly. Finally, 
we drew our boats up within a few feet of the nest. 

I had, unfortunately, used my last plate, but was able to borrow a camera 
from a student. The camera being of strange model, several minutes were re- 
quired in getting ready for a picture. This one was finally obtained, to the great 
relief of the students and myself. Still the Bittern sat motionless on its nest, 
except for a very slight shifting of the head in following my movements. At 
length, in order to see the eggs, it seemed necessary to lift the bird. When my 
hand was within less than eighteen inches of the nest, fear overcame the brood- 
ing instinct and the four eggs were abruptly exposed to view. A week later I 
visited the nest again. This time the bird permitted a picture at a boat’s length, 
approximately, but flew when we approached within eight feet of the nest. 

R. M. STRONG. 


| SEND you by this mail a print from a negative made by myself at Nipper- 


ay : 


GREEN HERON AND NEST 
Photographed by George Shiras, 3d. 


(110) 


Br \oc4/ 


Nesting Habits of the Henslow’s Sparrow 


By E. SEYMOUR WOODRUFF 


considered a rare bird in New England, is a regular and not uncom- 

mon summer resident in the vicinity of Litchfield, Conn. Because 
of their extremely shy and retiring habits, these birds are easily overlooked, 
even in a locality where they are not uncommon; but, if their song be once identi- 
fied, it is surprising to find how often and in how many different places it is 
heard,—places where their presence had never been previously suspected. The 
song is unique, and, once known, can never be mistaken for that of any other 
bird. To my ear it sounds exactly like the syllables cheer-r-r-up, with an upward 
inflection ‘on the last syllable. 

Their favorite haunts are marshy hillside meadows covered with a fairly 
thick growth of spirea, shrubby cinquefoil and other shrubs, though, occa- 
sionally, they will be found in bog swamps in the river bottoms. They are very 
difficult to flush, preferring to skulk along the ground through the low growth, 
where it is almost impossible to see them. If one should be flushed, it will take, 
as a rule, but a very short flight, keeping close to the ground with a somewhat 
undulating and rapid flight, and then, dropping suddenly behind a tussock or 
plant, disappear completely. 

Though I have located many pairs of breeding birds during the past fifteen 
years, and have searched for their nests most patiently, my search had always 
been unrewarded until one day in the latter part of June, 1906. The way in 
which I found this nest taught me an interesting habit of this bird, and, at the 
same time, afforded me a probable explanation of why my previous searches 
had always been in vain. 

Again and again I have flushed a Henslow’s Sparrow from under my feet, 
and, each time, thought that at last I had found its nest; but, careful search 
would reveal nothing. So I would give it up for the time being, but on return- 
ing several times in the same day, or even on several different days, I would 
almost invariably flush the bird again from either the same spot or from one 
within a few feet of it. The fact that the bird would not always flush up from 
exactly the same spot made me believe that it ran a few feet from its nest each 
time before flushing; but a most careful search of every square inch of the ground 
within a circle of twenty or thirty feet in diameter would always result in failure 
to find it. 

In June, 1906, I located a pair of Henslow’s Sparrows in a narrow marsh 
in a pasture near the top of a high ridge. The marsh was covered with a growth 
of sphagnum moss, fine sedge grasses, and clumps of fern, spirea and sheep- 
laurel in the drier spots. For two days in succession (June 21 and 22, 1906), 
I had the same experience in regard to flushing the bird as that described above, 
but I finally came to the conclusion that it was the male that I was continually 


(111) 


HH eerste SPARROW (Ammodramus henslowi), though generally 


112 Bird - Lore 


flushing, for whenever I heard the familiar cheer-r-r-up, it seemed to invariably 
come from that very same spot. So I gave up all hope of finding his nest there 
and wandered on up through the marsh. When I had reached a spot fully sixty 
yards from where I had always seen the male Henslow’s Sparrow, I heard a bird 
chipping close to me down in the thick marsh grass and small ferns. I suspected 


HENSLOW’S SPARROW, FROM A MOUNTED SPECIMEN 


at once that this might be the female objecting to my presence in the neighbor- 
hood, though it was impossible to see her and I could not flush her, for when 
I walked toward the sound, she would run a few feet to one side and start chip- 
ping again. So I crossed over to the other side of the marsh and hid myself 
behind a small bush in hopes that she might then show herself, and, at the same 
time, disclose the location of her nest. After waiting some time, my attention 
was attracted to a bird flying up the marsh which lit on the tip of a sprig of 
spirea for a minute and then dove down into the grass near where I had heard 
the female chipping. In a minute or two it reappeared and flew rapidly back 
to the clump of ferns and shrubs where I had previously flushed the male Hen- 
slow’s Sparrow. I recrossed the marsh in order to be nearer to the spot which 
he had visited, and watched again. In about fifteen minutes I saw him flying up 
the marsh from the same direction; and this time I perceived that he had a worm 
in his bill, which confirmed my suspicion that he was visiting his nest. He repeated 
the same performance as before,—perching on the tip of a spring of spirea, he 
looked about for a minute, evidently in order to see whether the coast was clear, 
and then darted down into the grass about ten feet away. In order to be certain 
that I had marked the location of his nest exactly, I remained where I was 
until after the male had visited the nest for the third time. Each time, on leaving 


Nesting Habits of the Henslow’s Sparrow r13 


the nest, he flew rapidly back to the same place, and, alighting on the tip of 
some shrub, sang lustily half a dozen times before dropping down to the ground 
to search for more food. 

During the whole of this time, which covered about an hour altogether, 
the female did not show herself once, but kept up a constant chipping down in 
the grass. The nest, which I now found without any trouble, was a slight, flimsy 
structure, composed of dead grass imbedded in the damp moss under a thick 
patch of small ferns and grass, and contained four young birds about one week 
old. 

The fact which interested me, even more than that I had at last found the 
long-sought-for nest of a Henslow’s Sparrow, was this probable habit of the 
male, restricting himself to some small, favorite feeding-ground at a considerable 
distance from the site of his nest, to which he invariably returned after feeding 
his young. I believe that this is probably always the case and, therefore, a reason- 
able explanation of why my previous searches had always been so fruitless. 
Another interesting habit of the male was that he sang only immediately after 
returning from feeding his young and before beginning to search for more food, 
and during the rest of the time remained absolutely silent. 

Whether the female always remains close to the nest, as she did in this case, 
I am unable to say, but the probabilities are that I had merely frightened her 
off the nest while she was brooding her young and that she was too shy to return 
LO, Jt: 

This experience taught me the folly of wasting time looking for a nest of a 
Henslow’s Sparrow close to where the male establishes himself, for the chances 
are that the nest is from fifty to one hundred yards away. 


PUFFINS ON BIRD ROCK, GULF ST. LAWRENCE 
Photographed by Edwin Beaupré 


The Migration of Flycatchers 


FOURTH PAPER 


Compiled by Professor W. W. Cooke, Chiefly from Data 
in the Biological Survey 
With Drawings by Louris Acassiz FUERTES and BRucE HorsFALL 


YELLOW-BELLIED FLYCATCHER 


This species winters south of the United States and is one of the latest 
spring migrants. It is scarcely known in the southeastern United States south 
of Virginia and east of the Allegheny mountains. 


SPRING MIGRATION 


| ses Se verage date o tliest date of 
PLACE | ob Seer meas el ‘ Pee arcival 
yWashineton; D.Co_ a2 oes eee ae 16 May 14 May 9, 1902 —— - 
Central Massachusetts-...-...-.---- | 3 May 19 May 15, 1886 
MonadnocksN Hee ee ce 3 May 20 May 18, 1897 
Northern Vermont aser5 20 eee 5 May 20 May 16, 1897 
Southern Mames 2s ss. see ees 6 _May 26 May 23, Ig00 
St. yoling Ne Be ge eee es ete as 8 May 25 May 19, 1889 
BakesMistassimy JQue pees cise see Do Na ina June 2, 1885 
Bayou Sara Wass ee eae eee | Se tite eee April 26, 1887 
Biloxi Miss. 5 ces ra sie ee eo hi ee he April 30, 1904 
Athens, Benue 2 saan eee eee 2B blvd cal eae ee April 25, 1905 
Lexington, HKys9 aes ces ee eee Pel aie eee ee May 1, 1903 
St. Louis, Moo: tao e Se ae cao 5 May 16 May 8, 1884 
Chicago; His a 52 eee ae ee ee aie qn May 15 May 11, 1g00 
Oberlin, Ohi0 222 oe et eee ee aero May 9, 1904 
Ottawa sOnk ole eee ee a eer 6 May 23 May 19, 1906 
Grinnell lia cane ees oe ee ae 4 May 18 May 14, 1886 
anesboro, (Mannis* setae oc sre cs 4 May 23 May 19, 1872 
Athabaska Lake, Alberta ..-..-.--.-- Nese pail ieee Lei ce June 3, 1901 


_ The average date of the last seen in spring at Washington, D. C., is May 26, 
latest, May 30, 1891; Chicago, IIl., average May 24, latest May 28, 1906. 


FALL MIGRATION 


A very early fall migrant was seen July 28, 1859, at Washington, D. C., where 
the average of arrival date in the fall is August 17; the average of the last seen 
at St. John, N. B., is September 2, latest September 4, 1892; average at 
Washington, D. C., September 16, latest October 6, 1881; last at Biloxi, Miss., 
October 16, 1903. Some unusually late birds were noted November 29, 1876, at 
Reading, Mass., and December 1, 1876, at Newton, Mass. 


GREEN-CRESTED FLYCATCHER 


This is the only one of the small Flycatchers that breeds in the southeastern 
United States. It winters south of the United States, and the following dates 


(114) 


The Migration of Flycatchers 115 


of arrival show that it reaches Louisiana earlier than it appears in either Florida 
or Texas. No proof could be stronger that the Louisiana birds arrive by a direct 
flight across the Gulf of Mexico. 


SPRING MIGRATION 


Number | 4, Sa 

PLACE Riveate | Scene ancieal |).2 sine eenyen. 
Wihtshelabs Klar. <2. pts eeere Ss 3 ae heer oe See April 6, 1903 
NOuthern:Georeila, . i 4. /ce <a ~ oss Se 3 April 17 | April 3, 1904 
Velie och aN an © coer Ee ht aed oo 12 April 26 April 20, 1894 
Washinetonemo: (Gan eos reece o ot5 22 May 7 May  re189200) 
Miagnespoter ha... 20.08. SREB ssl. / 3 May 5 April 25, 1891 
(NES Bae Ey coe See a Sie 2 oy ! 5 May 9 May 6, 1902 
Gicinrs enon gals | ete Re a Se a pe May 7 May 2, 1888 
Englewood: Ne Js asta... eek 20 AT May 16 May 5, 1897 
MOEkMOniW NG era 5.22 - oes «= | Bee Taly <= Meslent < May 13, 1888 
Nauthernmiouisiana~.. cic). - Se '<\-t5 = | 9 April 11 March 30, 1904 
ibe eras AT KAR 2 vo tac" et ee ae ae s2 ss | be) April 25 April 20, 1902 
PPE BEND, 5) 4.2 oie eee ee se 5 April 28 April 24, 1904 
beeen we is Re is 6 April 23 April 18, 1890 
SSL An Sa Oe eee 5 April 28 April 27, 1882 
Wratestoa,- Ine: Gear). ......<<.- == =: 8 May 7 May 1, 1896 
PPerbiE CPMONG 8 <5 sn ens Ss bite) May 9 May 4, 1899 
irate: Pees. 6 oo. 5 oaks es SS | SO May 1o | May 6, 1899 
Pipwamudies Mitek... <<. i 5 22.2 22 5s 5 ae May 15 May to, 1892 
Perersbure, Wek 62.6.6 os 5232 a May 15 May 8, 1889 
IEisborow Tames 8 ee ee ee 5 May ro May 5, 1897 
ianeshoro: Manm. —-/s0)<22< 523552 ART Tecate By May 28, "1884 
DAMeAMLOMO, eR: oot on hwo ce Z | 4 April 16 April 14, 1890 
INGHUBeINS MeESAS Spe or2iiaiaa.<'5 wie aera ) 6 April 24 April 20, 1885 
Mental Kansas os. eects aoa 4 May 6 May 2, 1906 


FALL MIGRATION 


Some dates of departure in the fall are: Oberlin, Ohio., September 21, 1906; 
Chicago, IIl., September 27, 1906; Hillsboro, Ia., September 19, 1898; Law- 
rence, Kans., September 10, 1905; Beaver, Pa., average September 25, latest 
September 29, 1899; Washington, D.C., September 15, 1907; Raleigh, N. C., 
average September 7, latest September 11, 1893; Tallahassee, Fla., October 
‘9, 1904; Athens, Tenn., October 11, 1904; Ariel, Miss., October 20, 1897; Cov- 
ington, La., October 27, 1899. 


TRAILL’S AND ALDER FLYCATCHERS 


This species has been separated into two forms,—an eastern, called the 
Alder Flycatcher, and a western, known as the Traill’s, or the Little Flycatcher. 
The two forms come together in the middle of the Mississippi Valley. The species 
winters south of the United States and in its migration it shuns the southeastern 
United States, south of North Carolina, 


116 Bird - Lore 


SPRING MIGRATION 


Number . 
PLACE otvenre | AVS Se of) ate a 

Raleigh, SINE (Ca: ose oes poe ee rhs: age! SEN A ates Se May 14, 1902 
= Washin ston Cees aa ae 10 May 15 May 8, 1906 
Randolp hy: Withers see eee ne 6 May 25 May 17, 1889 
St JOhmsbuinys Vitae 4-5 oe eee eee | 3 May 23 May 21, 1903 
Mionadnock i Nediee esis 3 May 23 May 20, 1903 
Noubthern Maes sleet eee 7 May 26 May 21, 1906 
Quebec Cains eS. tea 3 ee eee 5 June 2 May 25, 1905 
Scotch wid kenny Baa ee an ee 3 May 27 May 23, 1900 
Niorpnivensebye Eig Me, 2 ei eee gee oe 2 June 3 May 23, 1887 
Godbout Oueipe: pestis ee seer EM Cal oct cer se ae June 7, 1883 

Sin Louis, IMO seaies ese eee eee 5 May 5, April 29, 1884 
Odin sy se es Sine ee eee | 4 May 6 May 3, 1891 
Oberlin; jOhioiss Soe eae eee II May 14 May 7, 1904 
Plymouth, Michs. 22s gona eer See 7 May 16 May 11, 1892 
Ottawa, Ont. 2 = s-- BERIT Fr ces rc 9 May 24 May 14, 1905 
Southern! Lowa: 255202 see ere 7 May to April 30, 1899 
Central llowae sot 5552-6 = seers 5 May 19 May 17, 1886 
Wanesboroe Vinnie ae eee 4 May 24 May 20, 1892 
Central Kansdswic2 sa ee eee 4 May 6 May 2, 1906 
Aweme, = Mianitobass see = seer ne a OR pee ens. May 26, 1903 
Ft. Resolution, Mackenzie .......... SSN te then eae: d June 19, 1903 
Carlisle, N. Mate an. aon aa areas April 16, 1890 
Bie Lyon, Color, os. G2 te ee B May 12 May 4g, 1884 
Yuma Colovsicta: 25.05. ai eae 3 May 21 May 18, 1905 
MoseAnselessi Calan sae ae ee eee ae atx Urbs soning May 4, 1895 
Southern British Columbia.......... 3 May 22 May 18, 1889 


FALL MIGRATION 


On the return migration in the fall, the first was at Washington, D. C., 
August 16, 1886; the average date of arrival in southern Mississippi, August 30, 
earliest August 27, 1896. Some dates of the last seen are: Yuma, Colo., Septem- 
ber 10, 1906; Lawrence, Kans., September 10, 1905; Grinnell, Ia., average 
September 5, latest September ro, 1889; Ottawa, Ont., September 4, 1905; 
Beaver; Pa., average September 2, latest September 7, 1887; Washington, D. c, 
September 17, 1890, and Raleigh, N. C., September 21, 18093. 


LEAST FLYCATCHER 


This species spends the winter farther north probably than any other of the 
eastern members of its genus. It is found at this season in Yucatan and in northern 
Mexico. Indeed, it may possibly winter occasionally in southern Texas, since 
one was taken February 7, 1880, near the mouth of the Rio Grande. It migrates 
earlier in the spring than the other small Flycatchers, and that it is well known 
is attested by the large number of notes that have been contributed concerning 
its movements. 


The Migration of Flycatchers 117 


SPRING MIGRATION 


Number = - 

PLACE ee eee le, ee 
White Sulphur Springs, W. Va. ..-..-. 7 April 24 April 19, 1896 
WVeAie Givag aU ne Widlei= mie telehe seen Sti Syorarcy iol c= ae, a esaeee April 25, 1904 
Suesmeneton: (DG: oe. 05". 2s eee 16 May 2 April 20, 1881 
IXGAVEINm EDs. otros, cra Sse Sansw a oe osct 7 April 20 April 22, 1891 
SE PLENTOOU Nailer om ioctars cioscr= Shiai Siclia= II May 2 April 30, 1905 
ENIITREYGIS RN TEUOSL aS OES e ARS > ee | 19 May 3 April 29, 1902 
RMUSEOm espa nN VY. | so ee ehaye eer 13 May 3 April 30, 1905 
Tntevolly ieee) (Clo) olialg oe ye ERGs Seine Gone ae 9 May 1 April 26, 1899 
antond sConMs. oo 42 ./tates te ki 15 May tr April 27, 1902 
JPTON ENSIGN a Reged a 9 May tr April 27, 1905 
MINAMILONGANUASS sc, <lsiru es cyatere! sieves ete 6 April 29 April 26, 1889 
MMe InOSE BVEaSSurca ss ea Sie <5 ote bi 9 April 30 April 25, 1897 
West Roxbury, Mass.. ..3 2... s62i<=. 7 May 1 April 25, 1897 
TRGVET VaR ASS Herta nia scree See Secs 8 May 5 April 30, 1899 
Eastern Massachusetts. .........-.-- 20 April 30 April 25, 1897 
SouthyRandolphy Viti. -cscc ss slectes = - 6 May 3 May 1, 1896 
Nise OMMSbURys Vite. 2 cvse 2c owls ees 9 May 4 April 29, 1902 
Southern New Hampshire..........-. 2I May 3 April 29, 1898 
MOUUMenME AINE: on coe ce seas eee 18 May 4 April 29, 1902 
East Sherbrooke, Quebec ..--..-.-- = ange (ee lp cxay a= ae | May 6, 1905 
Bremmemramice..INe Bi ok 0 ois ian 'a vie o's 5 May 9 May 8, 1905 
NWewmOrneans. Wa jes 22 US eres ka Sater 67a ee HEY) Alor ave ae March 30, 1902 
MGA VINSS mete oree Lr = oe or eae = OM VES s x6: April 9, 1904 
A MPAMITOMIO OKs! A. 2'al ac 25 Setersis oye 3 April 16 April 14, 1885 
Wenrraleisansase sc... ar ae eS on eos 4 May 2 May 1, 1906 
ROIS MVLON. actc eet Nee we eo oe Se 6 April 30 April 26, 1888 
Wbecliner@iores tos nese ce a. Sac 9 May 1 April 27, 1897 
Warterloowlnd: (near): <2 -.5ceun c 8 May 2 April 22, 1902 
IBELCLS Ouro IVIICHE! geese fo ec. yori eta 10 May 2 April 29, 1892 
pouthwestern Ontario 0! 2 ..2 2)... 5. 14 May 3 April 28, 1900 
teats eyed inate a aim ohm Welt = take Se 5 May 11 May 9, 1901 
KOurenwrem Obamas Son en ee pe aa 17 May 13 May ‘5, 1905 
HAAS HOLO MLO Waves so. s 14s ees 5 May 2 April 24, 1897 
Wrenlkalmlowarral- = 42 scale aac Sc, eines 15 May 4 April 28, 1888 
WeAMESDOLOWIVWAN. ca. se. aeic oe Oe ere 6 May 4 April 30, 1888 
IMomineapolisseViinit. se. ee <r = ae 10 May 7 May 2, 1905 
mweme. IMamitObal .- 2226 ae Seles 9 May 16 May 11, 1906 
Imereti edd Sask. sec Sane eiens - 2 en | We ae st: May 12, 1906 
ume CQloi ss set aoe see et oe ee le ats Balle Owns ters May 13, 1905 
intievamvlonty ss )a5 6 ake ee ae ev ibei|\ pod na eae May 13, 1886 
INeCIeER AN berlal cs <6 «epee te els eet Tf [ana arieroks <a May 16, 1893 
Fort Simpson, Mackenzie .......-.-.-. A ee Ie. ene May 24, 1904 


FALL MIGRATION 
In view of the fact that it is to winter but a short distance south of the United 
States, it starts early on its fall migration. The average of the last seen at Ottawa, 
Ont., is August 22, latest August 30, 1888; Scotch Lake, N. B., average Septem- 
ber 6, latest September 10, 1906; Chicago, IIl., average September 17, latest 
September 30, 1895. 


The Massachusetts Audubon Society’s Bird Lists 


HE Massachusetts Audubon Society continues to develop in its members 

a practical interest in birds by supplying them with blanks on which to 

record the species observed during the year in Massachusetts. The 
best ten lists received by the secretary of the Society for the year ending December 
31, 1907, were made by the following members: Lidian E. Bridge, West Medford, 
201 species; James L. Peters, Jamaica Plain, 191 species; William L. Barker, 
Jamaica Plain, 153 species; Barron Brainerd, Brookline, 134 species; Bertha 
Langmaid, Boston, 128 species; Louise Howe, Brookline, 122 species; Samuel 
Dowse Robbins, Belmont, 120 species; Frank Seymour, Waverly, 83 species; 
Edith Seymour, Waverly, 79 species; W. Brooks Brown, Melrose, 43 species; 
Elizabeth K. Brown, Melrose, 32 species. The two lists first mentioned are 
published herewith: 


List of Birds observed bv List of Birds observed by 
Lidian E. Bridge, West Med- James L. Peters, Jamaica 
ford, Mass., from January 1, Plain, from January 1, 
1907, to January 1, 1908. 1907, to January 1, 1908. 
Name of Species Locality Date Locality Date 
HolboallisiGrebeqasse sees Nahant.....--- Feb. 16 | Ipswich ....-.-.- Noy. 16 
Mommed Grebe. aoe se Nahant........ | Feb. 16 | Watertown ....} Jan. 5 
Pied-billed Grebe......-...- Middlesex Fells | Oct. 8 Franklin Park .| April 19: 
oon, 2h eh ee eae = oreebers Nahant: —- 22. - = Jane nr. |) Nahanityeeenee Oct. 11. 
Red-throated Loon ..-....-. Nahant Oct. ro || Nahant ....... Oct. II 
Blacks Guillemot=--455—-5—= Nahant Oct) com PNahantesssese= Dec. 27 
Byunnich?s) Mirra a= see = Nahantes 22-1) Mec. 20) SNalhanitqese ss Nov. 2 
Razor-billed Auk ......-..- NeMieNdie see gees | IJema, me || INeNoghtie 55555 5- Nov. 23. 
IKeitibiwialk @ aaron eis etcrceney eee Nahant sess Oct. 28 || Ipswich ...-...- Noy. 16: 
Great Black-backed Gull... | Nahant .......- Jan. 5 Boston .......- Jan. 12 
iHieningesGullo sss ees eee Medford ...--.- Jan. 4 Bostonieeseesee Jan. 3 
Ring-billed Gull ......-.-.- Nahant ...-.... Oct. 18 || Nahant ....-..- Oct. 11 
Laughing Gull ........-..- Nantucket July 28 
Bonaparte’s Gull ......-..- Ipswich ....... Aug. 17 || Ipswich ......- Noy. 16 
Common aenves- eee ee Nantucket ....| July 28 | Boston .......- Sept. 19: 
AT GUIG AMOR 1) s.-tac laren coat Wood’s Hole... | July 27 
Roseateslennigss ese. sees Nantucket ..-.| July 28 
eastliemioo. scare eee Nantucket ...-| July 29 
Walson’s (Petrels.) 5052 cis serceu | ieee sttetie e ea eere eres Mass. Bay....- Sept. 19. 
Gannett cies tess See eres Ipswich ....... Ochy 727||Sipswichis ss eee- Oct. 19 
Double-crested Cormorant .. | Ipswich ..--...- Oct. 12 |} Ipswich ....... Oct. 19 
American Merganser ...... | Middlesex Fells | April 14 || Middlesex Fells | April 19 
Red-breasted Merganser.... | Nahant ....... Feb. 16 || Nahant ......- Mar. 16 
Hooded Merganser ......-.. Middlesex Fells | Oct. 20 || Middlesex Fells | Oct. 20 
Mallard 2). Seon tae eels Middlesex Fells | Oct. 27 || Middlesex Fells | April 19 
Black) Duck: oe ooo ee Middlesex Fells | April 3 West Roxbury. | Mar. 18 
Red-legged Black Duck .... | Middlesex Fells | April 3 Cambridge .... | Mar. 9 
Green-winged Teal .......- Middlesex Fells | Nov. 23 || Middlesex Fells | Nov. 23 
Pinta se. oo. eee ee Middlesex Fells | Oct. 19 || Middlesex Fells | Nov. 30 
Wood Duck-o2 2252 seal oe ee eee en lleemearee Brookline ..... May 19 
Redhead:.>:.s-feheeeaser Jamaica Pond .| Oct. 25 || Jamaica Plain . | Oct. 25 
ScatipeOucki eee ee eee Nahant csecos. Mar. 1607|)Nabanteeee eee Dec. 24 
besser Scaup Duck] | see Cambridge -... | Nov. 14 || Jamaica Plain . | Oct. 23 


(118) 


The Massachusetts Audubon Society’s Bird-Lists 


119 


i 


List of Birds observed by 
Lidian E. Bridge, West Med- 
ford, Mass., from January 1, 
1907, to January 1, 1908. 


Name of Species Locality Date 
American Golden-eye ...-... INa@hanites se) e-1- Jan. 5 
ButHle=head) -/s<t2 12 = 22. - sue © WNahantwis.22 == Mar. 9 
OlG=Squia Wins 15's 5 <1) falas sierere UN aivairiteee ra tet Jan. 5 
PMR SAE AID CR MOCT: carck tars, oyasatm ios |b set lool eens seve a= Vg ie coe 
f\ungrorethn Sfleieiesoneeoe Soke Nahantes:= 05 == Nov. 2 
White-winged Scoter....-.- Nahant = 2626 Jan. 11 
SG PICOLET © Sets. mie vaia, 5 alae, ota, Nahant 2222-4 Nov. 2 
Road diy Duck y= Ha .s sste<to,2 5% Nantucket ....| July 29 
@anadasGoose: 0-2 5 ~-)-- Medfondie = e.-- Nov. 18 
American Bittern: ....2..-.- Ih ojsayiatelo Aes Aree April 19 
NGC AS tan IC te Duet = |= c ciate spelere Cambridge ...- | June 11 
Great, Blue Heron 5-- =. -- -- Medford ...... April 28 
(Cidecin, la leonala eae eee roe Cohasset .....- May 30 
Black-crowned Night Heron. | Middlesex Fells | April 28 
Warounitan Rate si. disc, - ons. Cambridge .... | June 8 
SO), SARSe spe eee eae ee oF Cambridge ....| June rr | 

meAmenicam COO sac = 22 <s clei Middlesex Fells Nov. 24 
WSGIIES: SNIPE: <:- 22125 <0 is ey=ie Cambridge ..-. | April 15 
WMOWAGHeEL, 7s (22/<ct2% eis. 2 (eit ipswich ess ser Aug. 24 
GaTOIE Se Silene Poe Ces bo aoe ipswich * eae! Aug. 17 
Hectonalisaudpiper 2. 2-2. Ipswichie a s2e- Aug. 24 
White-rumped Sandpiper ... | Ipswich ..-.-.-.-. May 24 
east sandpipen -- ---)-.i- - Ipswich =. 3-2) May 24 
Red-backed Sandpiper ..... le lipswachwas- see Oct. 30 
Semipalmated Sandpiper ... | Ipswich ....... May 28 
BAD Ge MING 25 orcs mic wine 52 Ipswich .....-.. Aug. 17 
Greater Yellow-legs .....-. Medtord-s- 2. =: May to 
WellowalEGs ivi * 2.n-1a seve Ipswich’... 225 Aug. 17 
Solitary Sandpiper .....-.... Concord 7-.- May 18 
Spotted Sandpiper ........- Wraverlyema 2-1 May 18 
Black-bellied Plover ....... Ipswiche.-)-= 1 May 24 
American Golden Plover .... | Middlesex Fells | Oct. 20 
Semipalmated Plover....... Ipswich... May 28 
TP LOVER st <fo5 2 d.atenares = Nantucket July 29 
Ruddy Turnstone .-.......- Tpswichss 22.5: Aug. 17 
BOb=wihitey toi -.201s 2 sae = *Arboretum .. | June 22 
Rate dG rOUSe = ete eats Middlesex Fells | April 12 
Mourning Dove ...-........ Ipswichs 4. =.-,- Mar. 23 
Mars iia wiko salsa ysirie nario ifyswitelayers evens = Mar. 23 
Sharp-shinned Hawk....... Miedtorde ==. April 26 
Pnopers Hawk. os p50 5) = Middlesex Fells ; April 12 
hed-tatled Hawk .........-- Cambridge ...- | April 15 
Red-shouldered Hawk...... | Middlesex Fells April 12 
BTOAC wile & CCM IER a Wi Kens 2iss0s7<1'| ae ees See Seteelh cece ae 
Am. Rough-legged Hawk ... | Middlesex Fells | Jan. 20 
ES ACURA LER tarsi af enn oc 2 dialer | oho Sree ape eseeres Gee ai betes egos 
Inipeonw awk rc... <j5 oon, Squantum ..... Nov. 9 
American Sparrow Hawk ..| Medford ...... Mar. 30 
ATMeTICADNOSPLEY | ste). ee Middlesex Fells | April 14 
BOR -earedyO wilits.. ©. 5:2 'j126+) sia aeeete aa anen ih, coms eves 
NCHECCOMOM MENS Sahesersa/-sfes Medtord ys. -- = May 10 
Great borne daO wiles = oy cfec.'||-2 5 eerie Seen ebarepere 
Yellow-billed Cuckoo ...... Middlesex Fells | May 26 
Black-billed Cuckoo ...... Middlesex Fells | May 23 
Belted) Kingfisher —5--- --)-- Middlesex Fells | April 25 


= 


List of Birds observed by 


James L. 
Plain, 


from January 


Peters, Jamaica 


1, 


1907, to January 1, 1908. 


Locality 


Bostoneeseee ee 
Nahant 
Nahant 


Nahant 
Nahant 
Ipswich 
Jamaica Plain . 
West Tisbury 

Wayland 


Ipswich 
Franklin Park . 
Cambridge .... 
Cambridge 
Cambridge .... 
Jamaica Plain . 


Cambridge .... | 


Arboretum .... 
Arboretum .... 
iBedtordy2 ss... 
Wayland 
Arboretum .... 
Franklin Park... 
Natick 
West Roxbury . 
West Roxbury . 
West Tisbury .. 
Braintree 
Waltham 
Franklin Park . 
Jamaica Plain . 
Nahant 


Concord 
Arboretum .... 
Arboretum .... 
Franklin Park . 


Date 


Jan. 5 

Mar. 16 
Mar. 16 
Nov. 30 
Mar. 16 
Mar. 16 
Nov. 16 
Oct. 19 
Nov. 29 
June 15 


Oct. 19 
May II 
April 12 
June 8 
June 8 
Oct. 6 
April 12 


May 25 
Sept. 28 
May 25 
Sept. 28 
May 25 


| April 25 


May 25 
Sept. 28 


April 21 
Jan. 1 
May 18 
June 15 
May 5 


| May 12 
| Mar. 30 


Jan. 5 

Mar. 24 
Nov. 28 
June 17 
Mar. 23 
Feb. 8 

April 17 
Oct. 26 


Dec. 28 
June 16 
May 18 
April 14 


* Wherever the word Arboretum occurs, it refers to Arnold Arboretum 


Bird - Lore 


List of Birds observed by 
Lidian E Bridge, West Med- 
ford, Mass., from January 1, 
1907, to January 1, 1908. 


Name of Species 


Ha ry Woodpecker. ........ 
Downy Woodpecker 
Yellow bellied Sapsucker. . -. 
Northern Flicker 
Whippoorwill 
Niphitaw ke sere oe. et 
Chimney Swift 
Ruby-throated Hummingbird 
Kingbird 
Crested Flycatcher 
P Roepe sees ee ee 
Ouive-sided Flycatcher 
WoodsPeweert es same iee 
Yellow-bellied Flycatcher ... 
Alder Flycatcher 
Least Flycatcher 
formed: banker ee ac re ee 
Prairie Horned Lark 
ASTER Pays eee oes Bence ea a 
American Crow 
Bobolink 
CO wii diacie western tine 
Red-winged Blackbird 
Meadowlark 


Baltimore Oriole 
Rusty blackbirde sen .- eee 
Bronzed Grackle =...- cee 
Canadian Pine Grosbeak... - 
IP DUNS. SVEN Se oe So se Sels 5 
American) Crossbilla= sess 
White-winged Crossbill .... 
Redpoll 
American Goldfinch 
Pine Siskin 
SNOW Ke ways tao eee ee 
Lapland Longspur-...-...--- 
Vesper Sparrow 
Ipswich Sparrow 
Savanna Sparrow ........- 
Grasshopper Sparrow 
Henslow’s Sparrow ..-......- 
Sharp-tailed Sparrow....... 
White-crowned Sparrow .... 
White-throated Sparrow .... 
SRRCEISPaLiOw eso eee 
Chipping Sparrow 
Pield SpAacrOw. e+ oes ee 
Slate-colored Junco 
Song Sparrow 
Lincoln’s Sparrow 
Swamp Sparrow 
Fox Sparrow 
SL OWDEE yr Wee oats ene es 
Rose-breasted Grosbeak .. -. 


List of Birds observed by 


James L. 
Plain, 


Peters, Jamaica 
from January 


1, 


1907, to January 1, 1908. 


Locality Date 
Middlesex Fells | April 7 
Miediordiee ace Feb. £7 
Miediondieas =e Febue 
Mediordie asses Aug. 31 
Medtord) == a5 May 16 
Medtord asses May 17 
Middlesex Fells | May 15 
Cohasset .....- May 30 
Middlesex Fells | Mar. 24 
Greylockeeeene June 15 
Middlesex Fells | May 12 
Greylock asses June 15 
Creylockseeeee June 15 
Middlesex Fells | May 12 


INahanttess.- Jan 5 
ps wichY= ier <= Aug. 24 
Miedionds= sss: Jan.. 2 
Medford ...... Jan, 2 
Miediondses sae= May 13 
Medtondi=s=s—— April 5 
Medford -: 2... Mar. 24 
Medford ....-. Mar. 27 
ps wiches sears 6 May 28 
Medford .....- May 13 
Wedtordies==- April 8 
Miediordy 225225 Mar. 17 
Miedtond ca Jan. 6 
Medford ....-- April 19 
Tips WwilG heeeeee Mar. 23 
Middlesex Fells | Jan. 6 
Medtords2 sas Keb 17 
Medford ...:.. Feb. ro 
Middlesex Fells | April 5 
Nahant 22s Mar. 16 
Ipswich ...-.-- Mar. 23 
Medford ...-.- Mar. 30 
Ipswich ...-.-- Mar. 23 | 
Medtordi= 225 April 26 | 
Concordieer cee June 7 
Norwood ....-- June r 
Tpswichtee sere. May 24 
Concordyseeee: May 16 
Mediordies eee April 26 
Medford ....-.. Féby 17 
Medford 222.22: Mar. 30 
Medford... ...- April 12 
Middlesex Fells | Feb. 17 
Medford -...-- Mar. 17 
Boston 33... 2-2 May 20 
Middlesex Fells | Mar. 30 
Medford ...... Mar. 24 
Medford) 255-)- April 26 
Miedtordyee =~) May ro 


| Marlboro 


| 


| Concord 


| Ipswich 
| Franklin Park - 
| Franklin Park . 
| West Roxbury . 


| Nahant 
| Ipswich 


Locality 


Weston 


Franklin Park .. 
Franklin Park . 
Franklin Park . 
Jamaica Plain . 


Jamaica Plain - 
Jamaica Plain . 
Jamaica Plain . 
Jamaica Plain . 


Weston 


Marlboro 


Franklin Park . 


Nahant 


Franklin Park . 


Ipswich 


Franklin Park . | 


Waltham 
Waltham 


| Franklin Park . | 
| West Roxbury . 


| West Roxbury =f 
| Franklin Park i 
| Jamaica Plain . 


Franklin Park . 


| Waltham’... . - 
Arboretum .... | 


West Roxbury . 


Ipswich 
Concord 


Ipswich 


Franklin Park . | 


West Roxbury . 


Dover 
Dover 


| Franklin Park . 


| Franklin Park . | 
| Arboretum .... | 
- Boston 


West Roxbury . 
Franklin Park . 
Franklin Park . 


| Jamaica Plain . | 


Date 


The Massachusetts Audubon Society’s Bird-Lists 121 


List of Birds observed by | List of Birds observed by 
Lidian E. Bridge, West Med- James L. Peters, Jamaica 
ford, Mass., from January 1, Plain, from January 1, 
1907, to January 1, 1908. 1907, to January 1, 1908. 
| 
Name of Species | Locality Date | Locality | Date 
| | 
Indigoubuntine =... 22 ae- --)-- Miedionds=--- -- May 1g || Franklin Park . | May 14 
Deanletw@hanagen io. --)4— Medora + => fac May 19 | Franklin Park . | May 14 
Purple Martin’ 2.21... 5. 2)-% Goncordisss oi \nmes7, | |" Concord 2222 -= | May 18 
Melitta Wallows o> ole aks sian «fe Goncordpe =e May 16 | Concord fae eee | May 18 
Barn swallow ..2-----2-=-- Middlesex Fells | May 1 Franklin Park . | April 27 
PT CE TO WAlOW fay5 <a -1-.v= 55, - = Medtords 2-21. April 25 || Franklin Park . | April 14. 
hank Swallow. =. .ass25 2. - @oncord: = =. -- May 18 || Jamaica Plain . | May 12 
Cedar Waxwing :)-/-....--+2 Medtord) -. ¥..... Mar, to: |} Roxbury <2. | Jan. 25 
Northern surike =. 222.2225 ialviettior dss... i Jan. 8 Franklin Park . | Jan. 20 
REGreV eda ViIECOm a 4 =1- aemeaia Middlesex Fells | May 15 || Franklin Park . | May 14 
W aipling Vireo... << Eat veabotd :o2 Sots May 14 || Concord ...... | May 18 
Yellow-throated Vireo ..... | Medford ...... May 14 | Franklin Park .| May 16 
ibltie-headed Vireo... 2 =!-2 | Middlesex Fells | May 12 || Concord ...... | May 18 
Wihite-eyed) Wireo- 252-2 =- Middlesex Fells | May 12 | Braintree ..... | June 17 
Black and White Warbler .. | Middlesex Fells | April 28 | Franklin Park . | April 27 
Golden-winged Warbler .... | Middlesex Fells | May 15 || Franklin Park . | May 18 
Nashville Warbler .......-- | Middlesex Fells | May 15 || West Roxbury .| May 12 
Northern Parula Warbler... | Middlesex Fells | May 12 |} Franklin Park . | May 18 
Wellow Wanblerl.-22../35<5 IMedtord = = 2. May to || Franklin Park . | May 5 
Black-throated Blue Warbler | Middlesex Fells | May 19 
Myrtle Warbler +2’. <-2..- << Middlesex Fells | Mar. 30 | Arboretum -..-.. | Jan. 6 
Magnolia Warbler.......-- Middlesex Fells | May 1g || Franklin Park . | May 16 
Chestnut-sided Warbler... - . Middlesex Fells | May 12 | Franklin Park . | May 16 
Bay-breasted Warbler .....- Middlesex Fells | June 2 Arboretum .... | May 26 
Black-poll Warbler ........ Miediordy = -2--— May 18 || Franklin Park . | May 18 
Blackburnian Warbler ..... Megtond 2-27 May 21 || Franklin Park . | May 18 
Black-throated Green Warb’r | Middlesex Fells | May 8 West Roxbury . | May 12 
(Paiaves 49] 0} k=) ee Middlesex Fells | April 5 West Medford . | April 19 
Pe ibaa \y ebro deca ener eee pSwichyeeeyce. = Octer2 || hranklin ranks =s|'@Octa5 
Yellow Palm Warbler .....- Middlesex Fells | Mar. 30 || Natick ..-.-.... Mar. 30 
irate mW air b ler =) ssi )</os2y 212 Arboretum ....| June 8 South Sudbury | May 30 
Ovenmpindws ie. ee et Middlesex Fells | May 12 || West Roxbury . | May 12 
Wrateradibrusihiea ss esse Miedtord 2-1. May 1o | Franklin Park - | May ar 
Mourning Warbler......... Greylock. = aac June 15 
Northern Yellow-throat ....| Medford ...... May 17 | Franklin Park . | May 14 
Yellow-breasted Chat... ...- INGwiOuke=s a -- June 28 | Braintree ..... June 17 
Walsonise Warblene. sess i= Middlesex Fells | May 1g || Franklin Park . | May 18 
Canadian Warbleroe.. 2-6 Middlesex Fells | May 23 || Jamaica Plain . | May 26 
American) wedstart: ). ..-2- - Mic dtiondiss= == May 14 || Belmont ..-.... | May 17 
jroo eha (ee hale Shovel ales See ee Middlesex Fells | April 12 || Ipswich ..-..--. | Oct. 19 
(Gaiden oee eh ee we meee Middlesex Fells | May 15 || Franklin Park .| May 5 
Browm (Mhrasher: 225. .-)-.- Middlesex Fells | May 12 | Franklin Park .| May 5 
IOUSE SVWREM., Sy-tsyors 2 2 -fav-.5 <7 Miedtond te = May 5 Belmont”. 2- - 5. | May 17 
Whaniter: Wireme. 2. s2.t-- 5. De: Greylock ...... | June 15 || Franklin Park - | April 28 
Short-billed Marsh Wren..-.. | Norwood ...... July 4 Wayland ...... | June 15 
Long-billed Marsh Wren ...| Cambridge .... | June § Cambridge .... | May 24 
brome Greeperme 4c. - si... 2) Middlesex Fells | Jan. 3 Wealthamacce: == _ jan. 5 
White-breasted Nuthatch ... | Middlesex Fells | Jan. 8 Franklin Park . | Jan. 1 
Red-breasted Nuthatch... .. Middlesex Fells | Jan. 6 ATIOLERININ 4s = =) 6 ate. 
(Winickadee@uncier | en cas. seo Mieditondiis tor Jan. 3 Franklin Park . | Jan. 1 
Golden-crowned Kinglet.... | Middlesex Fells | April 3 Arboretum ....| Jan. 1 
Ruby-crowned Kinglet .-.. -. Middlesex Fells | April 7 Franklin Park . | April 27 
Wood (ibrushyee sel. 2 4. Miedtordeas--\-- Miawye 7am Goncords a May 18 
Walsomisediinusineses-= 2. -- Middlesex Fells | May 1 Belmont es May 17 
Gray-cheeked Thrush ......- Wraverhvieen- e. May 25 || Franklin Park . | Sept. 28 


Bird - Lore 


122 
List of Birds observed by . List of Birds observed by 
Lidian E. Bridge, West Med- - James L. Peters, Jamaica 
ford, Mass., from January 1, Plain, from January 1, 
1907, to January 1, 1908. 1907, to January 1, 1908. 
Name of Species Locality Date Locality Date 
Olive-backed Thrush ...... Wiawerly.= ono: May 18 | Franklin Park . | May 18 
Jslermima: WRU obese cone Middlesex Fells | April 7 || Franklin Park . | April 6 
American Robin........... Medford ...... ‘Mar. 17 || Franklin Park . | Feb. ro 
Blwebirdiecr ets == soins Medford ...... Mar. 18 || West Roxbury . | Mar. 16 
Ring-necked Pheasant... -. Medford ...... Feb. 17 | Franklin Park -| Jan. 1 
Kumlein’s Gull........-.-. BOSOM, sosno55 Dec. 7 Boston ....- Dec. 31 
Mockingbird ...........-. Medford ...... Nov. 20 | West Medford . | Nov. 21 
Brewster’s Warbler ........ Arboretum June 4 Arboretum .... | May 26 
Hoary Redpoll ...........- Nahant .....-.. Mar. 16 
Migrant gommikes 22 shee Micdiond eee. April 14 
Shovellensagnso acer ew eae Middlesex Fells | Nov. 30 
American, Widseon ce. nae Middlesex Fells | Dec. 8 
Philadelplitae Vineoe ss ai) .retrll ie Aceseten ene me eee Marlboro...... | May 30 
Northern Phalanope sce) a ai 0l ee awe ee se ee ree ames Wayland ...-..- Oct. 5 
iceland allie 2 eos erie S| Coenen 10 aera pen ba Swampscott ... | Dec. 24 
EVE art tay elem eee Say Ss Sill a ce eee eee ea eee West Tisbury - | Nov. 28 


Familiar Bird Names 


The current discussion in BIRD-LORE ought to bear satisfying fruit for everyday 
bird-naming. The writer offers a few criticisms as regards the suggestions of both Mr. 
Dawson and Mr. Perkins (as given in late issues of BIRD- Lore). As for one of the 
titles in question, one might make a composite, and call the ‘Louisiana Water Thrush’ 
henceforth the Southern Water Thrush. Mr. Dawson’s ‘Western’ Tanager is too in- 
clusive : there are other western Tanagers than that so misleadingly called the ‘Lou- 
isiana’ Tanager. How would ‘Red-headed Tanager’ do? 

Now, as to the titles suggested by Mr. Perkins: Can we not let ‘Tree’ Sparrow alone ? 
The term ‘Canadian’ adds nothing; and is not distinctively definitive. Let Field Sparrow 
stand. The name is good; and ought to stand by right of prescription. Why change 
‘Nashville’ Warbler to ‘Birch’? The latter title can have but a merely local appropri- 
ateness. The other suggestions by Mr. Perkins, in March-April Brrp-LorgE, are capital. 


As a promoter of discussion, merely, the writer cites a number of possibly helpful 


changes in our popular bird-nomenclature: 


The indigenous Rough-legged Hawks: 
Northern and Southern Rough-legs. 
Kamchatkan Cuckoo: Siberian Cuckoo. 
Arkansas King-bird: Western King-bird. 

Restore Acadian Flycatcher. 

Eastern Meadowlark (as a matter of pure 
distinction). 

Mexican Cross-bill: Sierra Cross-bill (or, 
Bendire Cross-bill, or Mountain Cross- 
bill). 

Tree Sparrow: Winter Sparrow. 

Arctic Towhee: Spotted Towhee. 

Pyrrhuloxia: Bull-finch. 

Bohemian Waxwing: Greater Waxwing. 

Prothonotary Warbler: River Warbler. 

Nashville Warbler: Brown-capped War- 
bler. 

Tennessee Warbler: Gray Warbler; (or, 
Green-gray Warbler). 


Blackburnian Warbler: Orange Warbler. 


A number of the above suggestions are in no sense original. 


Sycamore Warbler: White-browed War- 
bler. 

Connecticut Warbler: 
bler. 

MacGillivray Warbler: Tolmie Warbler. 

Canadian Warbler: Vested Warbler. 

Sprague Pipit: Prairie Pipit. 

American Robin: Eastern Robin. 

Holboell Grebe: Red-necked Grebe. 

Ani: Tick-Bird. 

Leucosticte: Rosy Finch. 

Junco: (let it stand, please, and convert 
the hyper-sentimentally nick-named 
‘Snow-flake’ into plain, ‘Snow-bird.’) 

Grass-hopper Sparrow: Sibilant Sparrow. 

Cinereous Sparrow: Ashy Sparrow. 

Hepatic Tanager: Ruddy Tanager. 

Verdin: Golden Tit. 

Siberian Yellow Wagtail: Alaskan Wag- 
tail. 


White-eyed War- 


They are collated, 


here, to provoke discussion.—P. B. PEaBopy, Blue Rapids, Kansas. 


Potes from Field and Stuap 


The Skylark, Pro Tem 


The “Skylark, pro tem.”’ So, I named 
the Bobolink, one day, when my memories 
were still vivid of the Skylarks I had heard 
as they were sailing the air and singing 
above Chorley Woods, a broad, sunny 
heath not so many miles from old London 
itself. Yes, without prejudice to either 
songster, I still adhere to the inspiration 
of the moment, which recorded this im- 
pression of spiritual kinship between the 
English and the American feathered ser- 
aph (each aiming at Heaven’s gate, in a 
June-day transport). Each was an em- 
bodied lyric. The former contained more 
stanzas, it is true; but the requisite of 
“simple, sensuous and passionate” could 
be applied equally to each of these poets- 
with-wings. While the rapture and ascent 
of the sky lasted, my Bobolink could con- 
tend, at every point, favorably with the 
darling of Shelley’s adoring muse. Or so, a 
at least, I thought. 

My Skylark, pro tem, sailed the air, and 
dropped earthward his astonishing and 
ecstatic barcarolle. Sometimes he traversed 
a distinct circle,—a circle which, probably, 
enclosed the previous spot of earth, where 
mate and nestlings were basking in the 
warm June sun. Again, he sailed about 
the little field, taking a lower range than 
before—seemingly with a rapturous un- 
certainty as to where his airy gyrations 
would ‘“‘bring up.” Sometimes he alighted 
for an instant on a stone wall, and once, 
upon the telegraph wire, where he told 
again all his heart-full of joys; or, rather, 
it was as though joy told itself through a 
bird’s bill. A memory,—launched on an 
indignant mental protest came to me just 
then: “‘spink, spank, spink!””. The wonder- 
ful performance to which I was listening, 
was no more like this syllabic burlesquery 
in sound, than a Nightingale’s song would 
be attempted to be expressed by any like 
ridiculous combination of vowels and con- 
sonants in a human mouth. Up into the 


sky again the little lyrist flew, his voice 
yielding a pure, harp-like quality, with . 
a flute at intervals miraculously interrupt- 
ing the harp strain. As he made his ascent, 
he became, as it were, a whole faint, fine 
orchestra of delicious bird-music, com- 
bining, in delighted confusion, whistling, 
warbling, trilling, with a tender call-note 
running through the whole. But he had 
reached the top of his invisible, lofty 
Piranesi staircase, and must reel back to 
earth, somehow. His flight of celestial 
music had seemed to be too much for him. 
Having scattered it all, he came fluttering 
down, and sank for a moment’s silent 
recollection of himself. With loosened 
wings (I could see the heave of his breast), 
he lighted and rested on the stone wall 
near where I watched. And another Bobo- 
link close by, as if to improve the oppor- 
tunity of such silence, rose to occupy the 
aérial auditorium, sailing and singing as 
his brother before him had done.—EpDITH 
M. Tuomas, New Brighton, S. I. 


Sea Birds as Homing ‘Pigeons’ 


American ornithologists and bird-lovers 
will probably be surprised to learn that 
the Frigate Bird (Fregata aquila) is fre- 
quently employed by the natives of va- 
rious parts of Polynesia as a carrier “ Pig- 
eon.” 

I have recently called attention to this 
fact in the Bulletin of the New York Zo6- 
logical Society, and it seems desirable to 
make it known also to the readers of BIrD- 
Lore. During the pastsummer, Prof. John 
B. Watson made observations on the hom- 
ing instincts of Terns, and Noddies during 
their nesting periods. 

According to the report of Director A. 
G. Mayer, of the marine laboratory at the 
Dry Tortugas, Florida, where Prof. Wat- 
son studied the birds, “‘he demonstrated 
that if the Sooty Terns and Noddies were 
taken to Cape Hatteras and liberated, 
they would return to their nests on Bird 


(123) 


124 


Key, Tortugasya distance of 850 statute 
miles.” 

In the course of a winter’s voyage on 
the U.S. S. “Albatross”’ in the South Seas, 
the writer found among the natives of the 
Low Archipelago many tame Frigate 
Birds. The latter were observed on hori- 
zontal perches near the houses, and were 
supposed to be merely the pets of the chil- 
dren who fed them. 

They were entirely tame, having been 
reared in captivity from the nest. As our 
acquaintance with the people developed, 
we discovered that the birds were used by 
them after the manner of homing “ Pig- 
eons”’ to carry messages among the islands. 

The numerous islands of Low Archi- 
pelago extend for more than a thousand 
miles in a northwest and southeast direc- 
tion, and it appears that the birds return 
promptly when liberated from quite distant 
islands. They are distributed by being 
put aboard small vessels trading among 
the islands. The birds are liberated when- 
ever there is news to be carried, returning 
to their perches sometimes in an hour or 
less, from islands just below the horizon 
and out of sight of the home base. Gener- 
ally they are in no great hurry. As the 
food of the Frigate Bird may be picked 
up almost anywhere at sea, there is no 
means of ascertaining how much time the 
bird loses in feeding, or trying to feed en 
route. It may also linger to enjoy its liberty 
with other Frigate Birds. 

I did not observe tame Frigate Birds 
elsewhere in Polynesia, but Mr. Louis 
Becke, who is familiar with most of the 
South Sea islands, says they were used as 
letter carriers on the Samoan islands 
when he was there in 1882, carrying mes- 
sages between islands sixty to eighty miles 
apart. When he lived on Nanomaga, one 
of these islands, he exchanged two tame 
Frigate Birds with a trader living on Nui- 
tao, sixty miles distant, for a pair tame 
reared on that island. 

The four birds, at liberty, frequently 
passed from one island to the other on 
their own account, all going together on 
visits to each other’s homes, where they 
were fed by the natives on their old perches. 


Bird - Lore 


Mr. Becke’s pair usually returned to him 
within twenty-four to thirty-six hours. 
He tested the speed of the ‘Frigate’ by 
sending one of his birds by vessel to Nui- 
tao, where it was liberated with a message 
at half-past four in the afternoon. Before 
six o’clock of the same day the bird was back 
on its own perch at Nanomaga, accompan- 
ied by two of the Nuitao birds, which, not 
being at their perch on that island when 
it was liberated, it had evidently picked 
up ex route. Sixty miles in an hour and a 
half is probably easy enough for the Fri- 
gate Bird, as in Malayo-Polynesia it is 
said to have frequently returned a dis- 
tance of sixty miles in one hour. 

It becomes entirely tame and familiar 
when raised from the nest, and if given 
liberty returns regularly to its home perch 
at night. 

The largest rookery of Frigate Birds I 
have seen is at Tekokoto, in the Low 
Archipelago. 

Frigate Birds inhabit tropical and sub- 
tropical seas. The spread of wing is phe- 
nomenal for the size of the bird, being 
about eight feet, giving a wing power per- 
haps unequaled; although Walt Whitman 
has somewhat exaggerated its power of 
flight in the lines: 


““Thou who has slept all night upon the 
storm, 
Waking renewed on thy prodigious pin- 
ions, 
Thou born to match the storm (thou art 
all wings), 
At dusk thou look’st on Senegal, at morn 
. America.” 


Judging from my South Sea experience, 
the ‘Frigate’ goes to roost at night, like 
many other sea-fowls.—CHARLES H. 
TOWNSEND, New York City. 


Mortality Among Birds 


Any observer who has visited large 
breeding colonies of birds is aware that 
there is a heavy death rate among the 
young birds, and that many eggs also are 
destroyed by causes over which man has 
but small control. For example, in Heron 


Notes from Field and Study 


colonies, the young frequently fall from 
the nests and are either drowned or become 
entangled in the twigs of the trees or on 
the edge of the nest and are hung. Crows 
in many instances destroy large numbers 
of eggs. In colonies of Terns, the writer 
has seen young which have become en- 
tangled in bunches of sand spurs and died, 
and still others which have been killed 
by crabs before they could free them- 
selves of their shells. 

Few, however, I suspect are aware of 


SHOWING WINDROW OF 


125 


The wardens of the Audubon Society 
frequently report similar disasters to the 
breeding birds. 
statements are made showing the number 


In their annual reports, 


of eggs laid and also the number of young 
While their 
statements cannot be expected to be abso- 


believed to have been raised. 


lutely accurate, they are probably not very 
far wrong, as in some instances at least the 
figures are based on careful observations 
and a daily counting of the eggs and 


young. 


ROYAL TERN’S EGGS 


The beach on the left has been swept by the waves. On the right are seen young and eggs in the nests 
which were undisturbed. Photographed by T. Gilbert Pearson 


the great loss of life which annually occurs 
from the destructiveness of storms and 
high tides. On Royal Shoal island, North 
Carolina, in June, 1907, a hail storm killed 
over one hundred and sixty young Laugh- 
ing Gulls; barely a dozen were left alive 
on the island. A few days later a high 
storm tide swept one end of the island, 
carrying with it into the Sound about 
15,000 eggs, mostly of the Royal Tern. 
On another portion of the island, 1,000 
eggs were carried by the water from their 


nests and left in a great windrow along 
the beach. 


Below are given the combined estimates 
of the Audubon wardens, showing the num- 
ber of eggs deposited and the number of 
young raised by four species in the chief 
breeding colonies protected on the Atlantic 
and Gulf coasts, for the season of 1907: 


Eggs Young 
Laughing Gull. ..59,670 37,300 
Herring Gull ....71,018 46,600 
Black Skimmer..28,350 21,050 
Common Tern ..32,300 19,025 
Brown Pelican .. 3,500 750 


Thus of 194,838 eggs laid, 70,103 were 


destroyed, chiefly through storms. In 


126 


-other words, only about 64 per cent of the 
eggs laid produced young which matured 
-sufficiently to leave the rookeries. 

Much of this destruction of bird-life 
could probably be prevented, especially 
“on the low-lying islands of the southern 
coasts, by the construction of sea walls, 
either of stone or low piling, to check the 
force of the waves and prevent them from 
running far up the sloping shores. This 
experiment is now being tried on one of 
the North Carolina islands.—T. GIL- 
“BERT PEARSON, Greensboro, N.C. 


Hummingbird Notes 


On June 4, 1907, a female Humming- 
‘bird had been seen often around a larch 
‘near the house, and on this day the nest 
was started—a tuft of yellowish down on 
-a twig about fourteen feet from the 
-ground. At 9.30 the next morning, after 
.an hour or more of feeding and playing 
with her mate around the weigela bushes, 
-she was hard at work again. When it was 
possible to follow her flight, the particles 
of down, cobweb, etc., forming the body 
-of the nest, seemed to be collected from 
.among the young leaves of near-by trees, 
“especially the elms; when after the scraps 
of lichen and moss she was more easily 
watched, for, darting over to an elm or 
-chestnut, she flew up and down and around 
the trunk, here and there standing still in 
the air as she picked off some tiny bit, 
then back to the larch, alighting directly 
“in the nest. It was most interesting to 
watch the bird at work; she paid no atten- 
tion to me, though I stood so near that 
no opera glass was necessary save when 
trying to name some piece of building 
material. Flying directly on to the nest, 
‘she would reach over, place her scrap of 
lichen and give a touch here and there, or 
if it were down, fix that on the upper edge, 
pressing and shaping the nest with that 
tiny body; then in another instant she 


was off like a winged bullet. She lost but » 


little time during working hours; in one- 
half hour she made thirty-oné trips, the 
the busiest five minutes of that period 
‘including ten trips. Usually she brought 


Bird - Lore to) , )40 CA 


down for several trips, then several pieces 
of lichen to bring the outer covering 
nearly to the top of the down. Yet several 
times she returned with nothing visible 
in her bill, but, after sitting in place a mo- 
ment, reached over and worked a little with 
the lichens: is saliva used to aid in fasten- 
ing these? During afternoon, the bird 
seemed to do little if any work, though 
sometimes seen perching near. Through- 
out, the male showed no interest in the 
work, and I seldom.saw him near the tree. 

By the 8th the nest looked compete, 
but the bird was still adding down to the 
upper edge and constantly shaping it. 
June 13, sitting had begun, but—the twig 
was dead, the wind high, and six days 
later nest and a broken egg lay under the 
tree.—IsaBEL McC. Lrmmon, F£ngle- 
wood. N. J. 


Nest of Wood Thrush into Which a Cow- 
bird Had Deposited Five Eggs 


The nest which is the subject of the 
accompanying photograph was discovered 
in the crotch of a leaning box elder sap- 
ling, seven or eight feet up. When dis- 
covered it contained one egg of the Wood 
Thrush and one of the Cowbird. 

The following day it was found that the 
Wood Thrush had laid another egg, and 
that there were three Cowbird’s eggs 
instead of one there, which proved to me 
that there were at least two Cowbirds 
using the nest instead of one, for two Cow- 
bird’s eggs had been deposited in less than 
twenty-four hours. 

I removed the Cowbird’s eggs after 
photographing the nest. This was done on 
June 5. On the 13th another Cowbird’s 
egg was found in the nest, but there had 
been no change in the number of the 
Thrush’s eggs. 

On the 2oth the nest was again visited 
and one young Thrush was found, appar- 
ently two days old, but no traces of the 
other two eggs were seen. On the 25th 
the nest was again visited and another 
Cowbird’s egg was removed. On July 
1, both mother and nestling left the nest 
permanently. 

In all probability, if the Cowbird’s eggs — 


Notes from Field and Study 


fivein all—had not been removed, the Wood 
Thrush would not have been able to hatch 
a single nestling, and, if she had, the lusty 
young Cowbirds would have smothered 
or crowded it out of its rightful home.— 
Geo. P. Perry, Sterling, Ill. 


Albino Flickers 


These Flicker photographs were taken 
June 15, 1907, in the southwestern part 
The nest was 


of Ohio, near New Paris. 


127 


the nape. The shafts of the tail feathers 
were yellow, as in the normal, and the eyes 
were pink, as is usual with albinos. The 
white birds were fully as large as the 
others, and quite as lively. 

One week after the photographs were 
made, all the birds had left the nest, but 
one of the albinos was found on a small 
tree nearby. It was secured, and is now 
in the collection of the Biological Depart- 
ment of Earlham College, at Richmond, 
Indiana. 


NEST OF WOOD THRUSH WITH THREE COWBIRDS’ EGGS 


Photographed by George P. Perry 


discovered about May 30, by Miss Ruth 
Petry, at which time the birds had been 
hatched some days. The nest was in a 
large basswood fence-post, with the open- 
ing only two feet from the ground. The 
nestlings were six in number, but only two 
of them showed any departure from the 
normal. 

These two were creamy white in color, 
with the exception of the red crescent on 


The other bird remained in the neigh- 
borhood of the nest for about a month. 
From its behavior in flight, especially its 
tendency to circle about, it seemed prob- 
able that the light blinded it more or less. 
After some weeks, nothing more was seen 
of it. It is likely that it paid the penalty 
of uniqueness, and fell a victim to some 
predatory Hawk.—LorEN C. PETRY. 
Haverford, Penna. 


128 


F y Ree 
Se as SEES. 


TWO ALBINO AND ONE NORMAL FLICKER FROM THE SAME NEST 


Bird - Lore 


Photographed by Loren C. Petry 


Identification Sketches 


I wonder if any of your readers has ever 
tried the following method of taking notes 
on birds. I pass it on in the hope that it 
may, perhaps, help some ambitious be- 
ginner, especially in the task of bringing 
order out of the delightful chaos of his 
first Wood Warbler observations. 

On a dozen slips of paper sketch the 
rough outline of a bird. With these slips in 
your note-book, and a box of colored cray- 
ons in your pocket, seek a favorable spot, 
sit down and wait. Then, when the Warb- 
ler flock begins to gather about, take notes 
by filling in your outline sketches. For 
example, if a Chestnut-sided Warbler 
appears, with a bit of black 
crayon, record in half a second the peculiar 
V-shaped mark on the face that would 
have taken a number of seconds to de- 
And after your next 


you can, 


scribe in writing. 
glimpse of him, a blur of yellow on his 
head, a smear of chestnut along his side— 
and lo! already you have a sketch that 
may not be an artistic triumph, but which 
will surely serve later to identify your 
bird. Not alone in the recording of obser- 


vations is time saved by 
Often it is necessary to refer hastily to 


this method. 
some one of your incomplete records. It 
would take some time to read and form 
written words from the mental image 
required; whereas it takes but a glance at 
the crayon sketch. And when there are 
Warblers about one, appearing and dis- 
appearing and reappearing, elusive as 
fairy-folk, among the leaves, who does not 
grudge every second’s attention that so 
prosaic a thing as a note-book demands? 
—MariAN WARNER WILDMAN. 


A Prothonotary Warbler in Central Park 


While sitting by one of the inlets of the 
lake in Central Park on May 8, 1908, I 
was attracted by an unfamiliar song which 
awakened my curiosity and put me on the 
alert to watch for the singer. Very soon 
I saw what looked like a little gold ball 
flying toward me from the opposite bank, 
and lighting in a bush not four feet from 
me, it poured forth the song I so wanted to 
hear. I looked, and looked, and my heart 
gave a bound when I thought of a skin of 
a Prothonotary Warbler I had cherished 


Notes from Field and Study 


for years, every feather of which I knew. 
“Ttis without doubt the bird,” I exclaimed, 
“but how did it get so far away from its 
range?’’ I remained some time watching 
it fly back and forth, then went to the 
American Museum and reported it, and 
examined specimens to make sure I was 
right. So far as I know it has never been 
seen in the park before. 

On May 5, Mr. Chubb and Dr. Wieg- 
man both saw this bird.—ANNE A. CrRo- 
Lius, New York City. 


Tufted Titmouse in Central Park 


A Tufted Titmouse spent nearly two 
weeks in May of this year in Central Park. 
It was not shy but, on the contrary, rather 
enjoyed getting near and surprising you 
by a loud whistle continuing five minutes 
or more. I think this is the only record 
of this species for Central Park.—ANNE 
A. Crorius, New York City. 


Briars as Nest Protectors 


I have heard of a way of preventing 
cats from climbing trees for birds that was 
new to me, and possibly may prove of 
value.. Take stalks of rose-bushes, or 
others with briars—dead ones will do. Tie 
them together strongly and put them 
round the trunks of trees too high up, of 
course, for a cat to jump above it. It is 
said that a cat will not cross them.—M. 
A. AYERS, Fitzwilliam, N. H. 


The Prairie Horned Lark in Fairfield 
County, Connecticut. 


On March 25, I heard of a nest con- 
taining four eggs which had been found 
in Great Plain district, Danbury, by Miss 
XeSands, a bright school-girl of fourteen 
years, who is very much interested in 
birds. I visited the nest on the next after- 
noon and was very much surprised to find 
it a nest of the Prairie Horned Lark. 

The nest, a neat and well-made struc- 
ture of fine, soft dead grass, was placed 
in a hollow, caused by the removal of a 
small stone, on the gravelly western slope 


129 


of a large round-topped sandhill. To the 
northwest from the foot of the hill stretches 
a small valley with an old cornfield and 
pasture lot. No houses can be seen from 
the immendiate vicinity of the nest, 
although there are several just over the 
surrounding hills. 

On the morning of March 27, Mr. H. 
C. Judd, of Bethel, and Mr. Jesse C. A. 
Meeker, of Danbury, went with me to the 
nest in order to establish the identity of 
the birds beyond all possible doubt, but 
were very much disappointed to find that 


NEST OF PRAIRIE HORNED LARK 
Photographed by Robert S. Judd 


three of the eggs had hatched during the 
night. 

I was unable to visit the nest again until 
April 6, and was very fortunate to find one 
of the young still at home, although he 
was perfectly able and willing to leave. 
In fact, after I first took him from the nest, 
he would make a break for liberty as fast 
as his legs could carry him every time I 
put him down. Once I let him run just to 
see what would happen. He went about 
a rod, then crouching close to the ground 
remained perfectly still until I put my 
hand over him, seeming to have great 
faith in his protective coloration. It was 
indeed remarkable how well the grayish 


130 


brown-tipped black feathers of his back 
matched the general tone of the sidehill. 

The old birds were somewhat shy, 
never coming nearer than thirty or forty 
feet, excepting once when the young one 
called while I was holding him; then the 
female lit for a moment on the ground 
within a few feet and showed all the signs 
of motherly anxiety which a bird can. 
At other times she was flying back and 
forth at some distance with a peculiar 
jerky flight, seeming to punctuate each 
wingbeat with a sharp whistled note, only 
occasionally alighting on the ground, or 
on a fence post for a few seconds. The 
male kept himself for the most part in the 
background. 

Just before leaving I placed the young 
one in the nest and started to lock over 
the sidehill, in the hope of finding another 
of the family. In the meantime the female 
lit on the top of the hill and commenced 
to whistle. When I returned to the nest it 
was empty, nor could I find the young 
one after searching thoroughly. She had 
evidently whistled to very good purpose. 

The whole family had disappeared 
completely, leaving only a trampled nest 
to show where these hardy little birds had 
reared their young in spite of the cold, 
blustering March weather.—RoBERT S. 
Jupp, Bethel, Conn. 


What the Starling Does at Home 


In view of the reports concerning the 
habits of the Starling which have appeared 
in recent numbers of BirD-LoRE, the notes 
given below, which show what the bird 
does when at home, may be of interest. 
These notes are from an article entitled: 
“Birds in Relation to the Farm, the Or- 
chard, the Garden, and the Forest,’’ which 
is to be found in the August (1907) num- 
ber of the ‘Agricultural Students’ Ga- 
zette,” a periodical published at Ciren- 
cester, England. 

“The Starling is a splendid bird on 
grass land, foraging for leather jackets 
(larve of craneflies), wire-worms, etc., 
rids the sheep of a few of their ticks, but 
in a fruit district it comes in droves into 
the strawberries and attacks the cherries 


Bird - 


Lore 


wholesale (Hereford); peas, apples, plums, 
as. well as cherries (Kent), also raspberries. 
Very valuable insect-destroyers, but get- 
ting too numerous (Nott). In my fruit- 
fields (between Marden and Colchester), 
I do not suffer very much from Blackbirds 
and Thrushes, nor do I grudge them their 
toll in return for their song. Only one bird 
is dangerous to my crops—that is the 
Starling. He threatened the utter de- 
struction of our strawberry, raspberry, 
cherry, gooseberry, and currant, and some 
other crops. These birds are said to come 
to us from the marshes as soon as the 
young are hatched. And they come in 
millions; in flocks that darken the sky. 
Their flight is like the roar of the sea, or 
like the train going over the arches. Their 
number increases rapidly each year. I can 
look back to the time when there were few, 
and have watched their increase for forty 
years, till now it is intolerable (Essex). 
The Starling is a terror, and life around 
here is hardly worth living; you must have 
a gun always in your hand, or woe betide 
the cherries—they come in thousands. 
(Sittingbourne, Kent).” 

Such reports—though doubtless exag- 
gerated somewhat—coming from different 
localities, and from the people who have 
suffered loss, are certainly suggestive of 
what may happen in this country, as the 
Starling increases in numbers. For more 
than twenty years after their introduction, 
English Sparrows had many staunch de- 
fenders.—S. H. Goopwin, Provo, Utah. 


A Southern Starling Record 


A pair of Starlings have wintered at 
47th and Baltimore Avenue, West Phila- 
delphia, and I am told they nested at 46th 
and Baltimore, on the Twaddell estate 
last summer.—THOMAS R. Hitt, Phila. 


Information Wanted 


The undersigned desires to make studies 
of the home-life of the Hummingbird and 
Chickadee, and would be grateful for in- 
formation in regard to the whereabouts of 
nests of these species situated within fifty 
miles of New York City.—F. M. CHap- 
MAN, Englewood, N. J. 


Book News and Reviews 


THE BirD OuR BROTHER; A CONTRIBU- 
TION TO THE STUDY OF THE BIRD AS 
He Is 1n Lire By OLIvE THORNE 
Mitrer. Houghton, Miffin & Co. 
1908. r2mo. ix -+ 331 pages. 


This is a very readable volume. There 
is not a word of padding, but from her 
own extended experience with birds and 
bird literature, Mrs. Miller has drawn only 
such material as is pertinent to her chap- 
ters on the individuality, intelligence, 
language, education, affections, courtship, 
amusements and usefulness of birds. The 
authority and place of publication for all 
quotations are given in an appendix of 285 
references, a feature which in itself makes 
the book of much value. 

With much of what Mrs. Miller says of the 
bird’s individuality and mental equipment 
we are in accord, but Mrs. Miller, we fear, 
loves birds too well to be an altogether 
impartial judge of their real place in 
nature, by which we mean their degree of 
mental development and their relations 
to other forms of life. She presents, there- 
fore, only such facts as tend to confirm her 
point of view, ignoring those which show 
that birds have the faults as well as the 
virtues of man, Her subtitle, consequently, 
should read ‘A Contribution to the Study 
of the Bird as I Believe Him to Be in 
Life,”’ and with this modification the book 
may be accepted as a fair presentation 
of Mrs. Miller’s side of the case. 

Mrs. Miller’s definition of a bird student 
is so admirable that we quote it in full: 
“When I speak of bird-students or of ob- 
servers, I do not mean the stroller who 
who passes leisurely through fields and 
woods, pausing now and then to notice a 
bird more or less casually, while the bird 
on his part is perfectly aware of the scrut- 
iny, and fully on guard. . By a bird 
student, or an observer, I mean one who 
gives hours and days and weeks and 
months to the closest observation of one 
bird or one species, watching to see how 
he lives and moves and has his being. 
aa oe VG 


THE POLICEMEN OF THE AIR; AN ACC- 
OUNT OF THE BIOLOGICAL SURVEY OF 
THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
By HENRY WETHERBEE HENSHAW, 
NATIONALGEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE. XIX. 
1908. pp. 79-118, numerous illustra- 
tions. 


We have here an authoritative state- 
ment of the work of the Biological Survey 
by its Administrative Assistant presented 
as an attractively written essay on Eco- 
nomic Ornithology and Mammalogy, 
Faunal Geography, Game Protection, 
Bird Reservations and Wild Animal 
Refuges. In summing up the value of 
birds to agriculture Mr. Henshaw re- 
marks: ‘“‘What would happen were birds. 
exterminated no one can foretell with abso- 
lute certainty, but it is more than likely 
—nay, it is almost certain—that within 
a limited time not only would successful 
agriculture become impossible, but the 
destruction of the greater part of vegetatiom 
would follow.”’ This paper cannot have 
too wide a circulation and to any one 
desirous of materially aiding the cause of 
bird protection we suggest the donation 
of half a million copies of it to the National 
Association of Audubon Societies for free 
distribution.—F. M. C. 


CATALOGUE OF A COLLECTION OF BOOKS 
ON ORNITHOLOGY IN THE LIBRARY OF 
FREDERIC GALLATIN, JR. New York. 
Privately printed, 1908. 8vo. 178 
pages, 3 photogravures. 


Ornithological bibliographers who pur- 
sue ‘first’ or ‘limited’ editions as keenly as: 
one would arare bird, will be interested in 
this record of ‘specimens,’ so to speak, in 
the collection of Mr. Frederic Gallatin, Jr. 
It contains the complete works of Audu- 
bon and Wilson, and the larger works of 
Dresser, Elliot, Gould and others, as well 
as many less elaborate but more useful 
publications. Such, for example, as the 
British Museum Catalogue of Birds. There 
are also complete sets of ‘The Ibis’ and 
‘The Auk,’ in short, the library is one 
of the notable collection of bird books in 
this country.—F. M. C. 


(131) 


132 


Foop HABITS OF GROSBEAKS. By W. L. 
McATEE, Assistant Biological Survey, 
Bulletin No 32; Bureau of Biological 
Survey, United States Department of 


Agriculture, Washington, 1908. 8vo. 
92 pages, 4 plates, 3 colored, 4o text 
figures. 


The methods by which the vast amounts 
of data givenin this paper were acquired, 
the manner in which they are arranged, 
and the judgment shown in their form of 
presentation and illustration from the 
book-makers point of view, are above 
criticism. We have space here only for 
Mr. McAtee’s conclusion: ‘“‘The five 
Grosbeaks studied consume, on the aver- 
age, nine times more weed seed than grain 
and fruit. Moreover, they devour nineteen 
times more injurious than useful insects. 
Consequently, since their subsistence is 
about half animal and half vegetable, their 
food habits are about fourteen times more 
beneficial than injurious.”—F. M. C. 


The Ornithological Magazines 


THE AuK.—The April number of “The 
Auk’ opens with a paper by Mr. C. C. 
Adams on ‘The Ecological Succession of 
Birds.’ It is a philosophical treatise of 
considerably more volume than substance, 
for old ideas concerning the struggle for 
existence are here so tricked out in the 
modern finery of biological language that 
they fairly dazzle the eye and bewilder the 
brain. We can agree with the writer that 
“environmental evolution and biotic suc- 
cession are of great value,’’ but we con- 
fess to a feeling of doubt when he tells us 
“Tt is quite probable that one of the main 
conditions which prevents a more rapid 
advance along evolutionary lines is in a 
large measure due to the almost utter 
failure to analyze dynamically environ- 
mental complexes!” 

Mr. Wm. L. Dawson has a paper on the 
‘Bird Colonies of the Olympiades,’ rocky 
islets off the coast of Washington which 
are now set apart as bird preserves with 
an estimated population of 100,000; 
Messrs. Beyer, Allison and Kopman con- 
tinue their list of the birds of Louisiana; 
Mr. H. G. Smith has extensive notes on the 


Bird - Lore 


birds of Colorado; and Mr. E. Seymour 
Woodruff presents ‘A Preliminary List 
of the Birds of Shannon and Carter coun- 
ties, Missouri’ with accompanying map. 
Mr. Woodruff is to be congratulated on so 
concise an account of the fauna of a rather 
inaccessible part of the state. We only 
regret seeing new scientific names for 
some of our common birds for we believe 
in the temporary stability attained by 
sticking to old names until the American 
Ornithologists’ Union’s Nomenclature 
Committee sanctions new ones. 

More Auduboniana is furnished by Mr. 
R. Deane who has already been the 
source of much valuable historical mater- 
ial gleaned from old letters and docu- 
ments. He also contributes an account of 
‘The Passenger Pigeon (Ectopistas migra- 
torius) in Confinement,’ which is a fitting 
obituary notice of the last survivors of a 
bird that in Audubon’s time, and much 
later, darkened the sky in countless multi- 
tudes. The passing of the Pigeon is unique, 
so far as we know, in the annals of orni- 
thology, although other birds have met 
or will meet its deplorable fate. 

The general notes show active field 
work on the part of a large number of 
careful observers and the reviews show 
ornithological activity the world over.— 


ip e e 


THE Conpor.—Volume X of ‘The 
Condor,’ which began in January, con- 
tains 56 pages in its initial number (practi- 
cally a double number) replete with inter- 
esting articles and notes. Among the 
papers most likely to attract the attention 
of the general reader are Finley’s Life 
History of the California Condor,’ Part II, 
containing the most complete resumé of 
the history and range of the bird thus far 
published, and Dawson’s description of 
‘The New Reserves on the Washington 
Coast,’ Three groups of rocky islands 
between Cape Flattery and Copalis Rock 
were set aside as bird refuges by executive 
orders on Oct. 23, 1907 (See BrrD-LORE, 
IX, pp. 292-294, 1907). For these islands, 
designated as the Flattery Rocks, Quillay- 
ute Needles, and Copalis Rock reserva- 


Book News 


tions, Dr. Dawson proposes the collective 
term Olympiades from their proximity to 
the Olympic Mountains. Here are the 
nesting grounds of twelve species of sea- 
birds comprising, according to an estimate 
made in June 1907, some 60,000 Gulls, 
Cormorants, Puffins, Auklets and Murres, 
and 100,000 Kaeding Petrels. 

Under the title ‘Northwestern Colorado 
Bird Notes,’ Warren gives a list of ninty- 
three species of birds observed during the 
spring and summer of 1907; and in ‘Notes 
from the Diary of a Naturalist in Northern 
California,’ Ferry mentions about one 
hundred species observed while engaged 
in work for the Biological Survey, in 1905, 
at various points chiefly in Mendocino, 
Trinity, Siskiyou, Del Norte, and Hum- 
boldt counties. The nesting habits of the 
Western Horned Owl in Colorado are 
described by Rockwell and those of the 
Tawny Creeper in Washington by Bowles. 

Dr. D’Evelyn contributes a popular 
account of the principal ‘Locust-destroy- 
ing Birds of the Transvaal’; Grinnell de- 
scribes ‘The Southern California Chicka- 
dee’ from Mt. Wilson as a new subspecies 
(Parus gambeli baileye); and. Willard in 
‘An Arizona Nest Census’ gives a striking 
illustration of the manner in which birds 
sometimes breed in close proximity. At 
Tombstone, Ariz., in a space only 120 x 
150 feet twenty-eight pairs of birds, repre- 
senting ten distinct species, nested and 
reared one or more broods of young.— 
‘tate re 


Book News 


Nearly every issue of ‘Country Life in 
America’ contains one or more illustrated 
articles on birds, but the lesson of the much- 
discussed ‘fake’ Grouse pictures, which 
appeared in that magazine some years ago, 
appears not to have born fruit, and on page 
612 of the May number there are some 
notable examples of stuffed-bird photog- 
raphy. Here also we find a Yellow-billed 
Cuckoo labelled ‘‘Seaside Finch!” 

In ‘Some Records of Fall Migration of 
1906’ (Ninth Annual Report Michigan 
Academy Science, pp. 166-171) Mr. Nor- 
man A. Wood gives a synopsis of daily 


and Reviews 133 
observations made at Portage Lake, Wash- 
tenaw county, Michigan, from September 
g to October 2t. 

The birds of probably no portion of 
South America are better known than 
those of the island of Trinidad, but in 
spite of the long-continued work of col- 
lectors in this comparatively restricted 
area, Mr. George K. Cherrie (Vol. I, No. 
13, Science Bulletin Museum Brooklyn 
Institute Arts and Science), adds four 
species to the list of Trinidad birds as a 
result of field work there during March, 
1907. Of these, however, two were pre- 
viously known from Monos island, adjoin- 
ing northwest Trididad, while Chetura 
cinereicauda, given by Cherrie as a first 
record for Trinidad, had already been 
recorded as “‘Common” at Caparo in the 
central part of the island by Chapman 
(Bulletin American Museum Natural 
History, vii, 1895, 324), on whose speci- 
mens Hellmayr (Bull. Brit. Orn. Club, 
XIX, 1907, 62) has since based his Che- 
tura -inereicauda chapmant. 

The name of Denis Gale appears so 
frequently in Bendire’s ‘Life Histories of 
North American Birds’ that bird students 
will read with interest an account of the 
work of this “early Colorado naturalist”’ 
published by Junius Henderson in the 
‘University of Colorado Studies’ (Vol. V, 
No. 1, Dec. 1907. 

In the ‘Museum News’ of the Brooklyn 
Institute (Vol. 3, No. 7, April 1908) 


_ George K. Cherrie makes an important 


addition to our knowledge of the habits of 
the Giant Stork or Jabiru based on his 
study of this bird in Venzuela, where he 
tells us the bird’s wings and tail feathers 
are in demand ‘‘as ornaments for ladies’ 
hats.” 

The ‘Nature-Study Review’ for April 
(pp. 133-137) contains an article by C. F. 
Hodge entitled ‘Nature-Study and the 
Preservation of American Game Birds’ in 
which the author offers to codperate in the 
artificial propagation of the Wild Turkey, 
Bob-White, Ruffed Grouse, Passenger 
Pigeon, and Prairie Hen. Professor 
Hodge’s address is Clark University, Wor- 
cester, Mass. 


134 


Bird- Lore 


A Bi-monthly Magazine 
Devoted to the Study and Protection of Birds 
OFFICIAL ORGAN OF THE AUDUBON SOCIETIES 
Edited by FRANK M. CHAPMAN 
Published by THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 


Vol. X Published June 1, 1908 No. 3 


SUBSCRIPTION KATES 


Price in the United States, Canada and Mexico 
twenty cents a number, one dollar a year, post- 
age paid. 


COPYRIGHTED, 1908, BY FRANK M. CHAPMAN 


Bird-Lore’s Motto: 
A Bird in the Bush ts Worth Two in the Hand 


WE have before referred to the studies 
of Noddies and Sooty Terns by Prof. John 
B. Watson on Bird Key, Tortuags, during 
the nesting season of 1908, and in the 
annual report of Dr. Alfred G. Mayer, 
Director of the Department of Marine 
Biology of the Carnegie Institution, under 
the auspices of which Professor Watson’s 
researches were made, there appears a 
preliminary report of this work. The final 
teport will appear during the year, and we 
will call attention here, therefore, only to 
Professor Watson’s supremely interesting 
tests of the homing instincts of Noddies 
and Sooty Terns. Fifteen marked birds 
were taken from the Key and released 
at distances varying from about 20 to 
850 statute miles, thirteen of them re- 


turning to the Key. Among these thirteen. 


were several birds which were taken by 
steamer as far north as Cape Hatteras 
before being freed. 

This experiment is by far the most im- 
portant in its bearing on bird migration 
of any with which we are familiar. It was 
made under ideal conditions. Neither the 
Noddy nor Sooty Tern range, as a rule, 
north of the Florida Keys. There is no 
probability, therefore, that the individuals 
released had ever been over the route be- 
fore, and, for the same reason, they could 
not have availed themselves of the ex- 
perience or example of migrating indi- 
viduals of their own species; nor, since 
the birds were doubtless released in June 


Bird-Lore 


or July, was there any marked southward 
movement in the line of which they might 
follow. Even had there been such a move- 
ment, it is not probable that it would have 
taken the birds southwest to the Florida 
Keys, and thence west to the Tortugas. 
This marked change in direction, occa- 
sioned by the water course, which the 
birds’ feeding habits forced them to take, 
removes the direction of the wind as a 
guiding agency, while the absence of land- 
marks over the greater portion of the 
journey, makes it improbable that sight 
was of service in finding the way. Pro- 
fessor Watson presents, as yet, no con- 
clusions, but, while awaiting with interest 
his final report, we cannot but feel that 
his experiments with these birds constitute 
the strongest argument for the existence 
of a sense of direction as yet derived from 
the study of birds. With this established, 
the so-called mystery of migration be- 
comes no more a mystery than any 
other instinctive functional activity. 


‘The Guide to Nature Study,’ Mr. E. F. 
Bigelow, presents an editorial in which we 
quote at length: “‘The most difficult task 
that has thus far come to me in the es- 
tablishing of ‘The Guide to Nature’ has 
been the returning of manuscripts, as I 
have had to do, even to some of the 
magazine’s best friends. The announce- 
ment that this is to be a magazine of help- 
fulness, to inspire and increase an interest 
in nature, has brought forth an immense 
number of essays on what, for lack of a 
better term, I must call ‘glittering gener- 
alities’ about the beauty and suggestive- 
ness of nature. This is to be a magazine 
not of preaching on “The Beauty and 
Interest to be Observed in Insects,’ ‘The 
Fascinations of Ornithology,’ ‘Wonders 
of the Plant World,’ or similar general 
essays; but each article is to have a specific 
statement of what has been actually seen 
or done, not what the author’s point of 
view may be. .’ Tf Mr. Bigelow can 
produce a magazine which will meet this 
standard (and he makes an excellent show- 
ing in his first two numbers), he will bene- 
fit his contributors as well as his readers. 


The Audubon Societies 


SCHOOL DEPARTMENT 


Edited by MABEL OSGOOD WRIGHT 


Address all communications to the Editor of the School Department, National 
Association of Audubon Societies, 141 Broadway, New York City 


Bird Houses and School Children 


UR Northwest field agent, Mr. Finley, writes: “We have a great deal 
of interest in bird study worked up in various schools about the state. 
Wherever there is a manual training department, they are making many 
bird-houses. Superintendent Alderman at Eugene writes that they are making 
Eugene a bird city. The school children are arranging for a bird day a little 


MANUAL TRAINING CLASS AT WORK ON BIRD HOUSES, PORTLAND, OREGON 
PUBLIC SCHOOLS. Photograph by H. T. Bohlman 

later and they have bird-houses up in every tree and back yard in the town. At 
the recent annual exhibit of school work, they had 443 bird-houses on display. 
We have an exhibition of bird-houses now in Portland that were made by the 
children of the manual training department here. It is attracting much attention. 

“We are doing considerable bird work in the schools by getting the children 
to make observations in the field and write compositions on the various phases 


(135) 


136 Bird - Lore 


BIRD-HOUSES—SCHOOLBOY AT WORK 
Photograph by H. T. Bohlman 


of bird life. Two contests for prizes are being carried on now in this county 
and Yamhill County for the best written accounts of the observations made.” 


Good Work in a Pennsylvania School 


HE annual public meeting of the Audubon Society of the Darlington 

Seminary was held Saturday evening. Mrs. Bye opened the program 

with an account of the objects of this Society, and read a letter received 

from Wm. Dutcher, President of the National Association, New York, acknow- 

ledging the receipt of the fee, which entitles the school to sustaining member- 

ship, also $5 for a subscription to Brrp-Lore, a delightful work on ornithology. 
Mrs. Ball read an instructive paper on ‘The Background of Ornithology.’ 

Mrs. Bye then made an earnest appeal to every woman especially to con- 


The Audubon Societies 137 


sider this subject and realize the destruction of bird life that their love for finery 
occasions. Every year large numbers of birds are killed to supply milliners. 

The hall was appropriately decorated with greens and great quantities of 
violets. Birds were in evidence everywhere, a number having been painted by 
the art students. The birds were sold by auction at the close of the meeting, 
which caused much merriment and netted a neat little sum for the benefit of 
the Society, which will swell the annual contribution that the Seminary branch 
makes annually to the National Association. 


American Nature-Study Society 


The American Nature-Study Society was organized at Chicago, Jan. 2, 1908, 
for the advancement of all studies of nature in elementary schools. The Council 
for 1908 consists of: President, L. H. Bailey (N. Y,); Vice-Presidents, C. F. 
Hodge (Mass.), F. L. Stevens (N. C.), V. L. Kellogg (Cal.), W. Lochhead 
(Canada), F. L. Charles (Ill.); Directors, D. J. Crosby (D. C.), C. R. Mann 
(Ill.), S. Coulter (Ind.), H. W. Fairbanks (Cal.), M. F. Guyer (O.), O. W. 
Caldwell (Ill.), G. H. Trafton (N. J.), F. L. Clements (Minn.), Ruth Marshall 
(Neb.), C. R. Downing (Mich.); Secretary, M. A. Bigelow (N. Y.). The Council 
will publish The Nature-Study Review as the official organ, and send it free to 
members whose annual dues ($1.00) are paid in advance. Teachers and others 
interested in any phase of studies of nature in schools, are invited to send appli- 
cations for membership; simply write, (1) name, (2) official position or occupa- 
tion (for directory to be printed), (3) permanent address; and mail to Secretary, 
American Nature-Study Society, Teachers College, New York. For full infor- 
mation see the official journal for January, rgo8. 


A Course In Bird Study 


The Cold Spring, Long Island, Biological Laboratory of the Brooklyn 
Institute of Arts and Sciences announces a course in bird study by Mrs. Alice 
L. Walter, which will treat of classification, with particular reference to the 
birds of eastern North America; ancestry; anatomy; adaptation of structure 
to environment; plumage and moults; nesting habits, geographical distribution; 
migration; economic value and bird protection; methods of study in the field, 
garden or restricted areas, together with practical suggestions for bird study 
in schools. 


THE BARN SWALLOW 


By MABEL OSGOOD WRIGHT 


Che ational Association of Audubon Societies 


EDUCATIONAL LEAFLET NO. 32 


Once upon a time, all country children knew a Barn Swallow as well as 
they knew the chickens they fed or the cattle they drove to pasture; while, if they 
could only call a half dozen birds by name, this Swallow was sure to be one of 
them. 

Now, one may live in a small town, on the outskirts of a village, or even in 
the real open farming country, without having the Barn Swallow as a neighbor, 
and only know it as it perches on the telegraph wires by the roadside, or flies in 
great flocks, in company with others of its tribe, to its roosts in marsh mead- 
ows in the fall migration. 

Why should this be when the Barn Swallow is not widely distributed over 
our continent, but, being a bird of the air and feeding upon the wing, it runs 
fewer risks in getting its living than do the birds of the trees or ground? 

You cannot tell, doubtless, and yet you may also have noticed their scarcity; 
so let us spend a few minutes with the bird itself, as well as the conditions that 
surround it. 

The Barn Swallow belongs to the family of Hirundinidze 

His Family (equivalent of Swallow). There are over eighty species of these 

birds, quite generally distributed throughout the world, while 

nine are to be found at some time of the year within the borders of the United 

States. The Purple Martin, of the glistening purple-black coat, is the largest 

of our Swallows, being a trifle larger than either Wood Thrush or Catbird, 

while the dust-colored Bank Swallow, whose coat blends well with the bank of 

clay or loam in which he burrows his nest tunnel, is the smallest, being less in 
size than our Chipping Sparrow. 

Though there is considerable variety in the plumage of these Swallows, 
all but the Bank Swallow show more or less metallic luster in the feathers of 
the back, all have pleasing mellow voices that are heard in the simplest sort 
of a song, which (if we except the Martin’s rather plaintive notes) sound more 
like rippling bird laughter than an attempt at singing. In addition, they are 
all strong and swift of wing and weak of feet; going to prove, as one of the Wise 
Men puts it, that their wings have been developed at the expense of their claws, 
and for this reason when they are forced to perch they must choose some very 
slender perch, such as the telegraph wires. 

In a family noted for its beauty and grace, our Barn Swallow is well able 
to hold his own; and his chief mark of identity, the deeply forked, white-spotted 
tail, tells his name, whether on the wing or at rest, so that there should be no 
difficulty in naming him. Then, again, as seen in the accompanying picture, 


(138) 


BRUCE ; HORS FAX 


BARN SWALLOW 


Order — PASSERES Family — H1RUNDINID& 
Genus— HtrunpDo Species— ERYTHROGASTRA 


The Barn Swallow 139 


they are always upon the wing, now following some insect high in air, now skim- 
ming low over the meadows, with a motion peculiar to themselves,—a flight 
that resembles swimming or rowing in the air—so swiftly does the rudder-like 
tail keep the balance in the rapid gyrations of the body propelled by the long 
oar-like wings. 

The Barn Swallow is found not only in all parts of North 
America, but in Alaska and Greenland as well, and it breeds 
in the greater part of its range where suitable sites are to be found. 
Now, this question of nesting-sites is of great importance when we are trying to 
account for, at least, a local decrease in the number of these birds, and for the 
cause and its remedy. What is necessary in order to make this Swallow feel 
at home? 

We associate him with the comfortable old-fashioned barns, with open 
rafters, doors that could not be tightly shut, and windows with many panes. 
lacking. Here the birds nested, either in single pairs or more often in colonies, 
fastening their cup-shaped clay nests, made of mud balls well reinforced with 
straw, after the fashion of human brick-makers, to the side of the hay-loft tim- 
bers or other convenient places. This nest is usually so well lined with the var- 
ious feathers picked up in the barnyard below that before use has worn it down. 
it looks very much like some sort of furry cap turned inside out. 

Now-a-days, the new farming demands that barns and other outbuildings. 
should be tight and neat with paint, instead of covered with mossed and weath- 
ered shingles; so that, as the new replaces the old in their haunts, many a pair 
of Swallows drop from their sky-high wooing to find closed doors and tight 
roofs staring them in the face. So they move on,—Where ? that is the question,— 
for there is no reason to suppose that there has been a greater mortality among 
these birds during the last ten years than in the decade that preceded it. That 
Barn Swallows existed before there were barns, goes without saying; conse- 
quently, if this were all, a return to a barnless condition should only be a matter 
of time. Caves are known to be used to a limited extent; but may it not be pos- 
sible that in settled places the Barn Swallow may become even further domesti- 
cated, form the habit of coming under the roofs of the porches and piazzas of 
those who are not too particular about a little mud and litter, as does the Phcebe, 
who was originally a cliff-dweller? I have heard of several individual cases. 
of this kind, and it would be very helpful if the readers of this leaflet would be 
on the lookout this summer for any unusual nesting-places of this bird, and 
make a report of them. 

As the Barn Swallow covers a wide summer range, so does it travel far in 
the migrations, wintering as far south as Brazil; and, as it takes first rank among 
a family of birds famous for their power of flight, so is also this flight and the 
preparation for it a matter of great interest. 

In the middle states, the Barn Swallow appears after the first week in April,— 
a time when the flying insects, upon which it feeds, may be expected to be plenti- 


His Home and 
Country 


140 Bird - Lore 


ful. Its first appearance, as well as its last in autumn, is usually in the vicinity 
of water, and before pairing, the nightly roost of the birds is in the low bushes 
of some marshy meadow. Two broods are reared in a season, the first nest 
being built in early May and the second in June, and on two occasions we have 
had a third nest in our barn in the middle of August. 
The sets of eggs vary from four to half a dozen; the ground 
The Eggs color is white, and they are thickly spotted with various shades 
of brown. The young birds at first are dull and brownish look- 
ing, much like Bank Swallows, and even the forked tail is not well developed in 
the very young. 
During the nesting season the food flight of the Barn Swallow 
Food is incessant, and, as the birds are of a sociable nature, they often 
go out in groups when in search of food, their happy twittering 
song when on the wing being one of the sounds we should miss sadly. In addi- 
tion to killing myriads of mosquitos and their kin, flies are taken, small beetles 
and several species of winged ants. 

Every one who, on a cloudy day or late in the afternoon, has stood by a mill- 
pond or other large body of forest water, must have noticed these Swallows 
skimming low over the water, taking the gnats that swarm there, upon wings 
that never tire. It was often the habit of boys; idle and worse, to throw sticks 
and other missiles at these low-flying birds, to see how many they could kill,— 
this game being played in the nesting as well as the flocking season. This sort 
of thing is, of course, mere wanton cruelty, as there can be no pretence of eating 
the birds. Be the cause what it may, this Swallow is decreasing rapidly here in 
southern Connecticut, and one day this spring, in a drive of twenty miles through 
the real farming country where there was a fair proportion of old-fashioned 
weathered barns, I saw only three small colonies of the birds. 

Barn Swallows were also one of the first ‘Bonnet Martyrs’ among our familiar 
birds that attracted the attention of bird lovers, more than twenty-five years ago, 
to the necessity of bird protection. The breast and wings of these beautiful birds 
were used to such an extent for millinery that an editorial appeared in ‘Forest 
and Stream’ entitled ‘Spare the Swallows.’ This agitation resulted in the organi- 
zation of the first Audubon Society, in 1886. 

In the latter part of August, the family groups break up and the general 
flocking begins. From this time on until their final disappearance, the Barn 

Swallow and his brothers, the Bank and the Tree Swallow, lend 
Fall Migration life and béauty to the autumn landscape, whether they perch 

upon wayside wires, pluming themselves, or whether they flock 
and wheel over sand dunes and meadows, as if preparing for the flight of migra- 
tion, which, according to my own observation, begins, at least, by daylight. 

The season of the Barn Swallows’ disappearance varies doubtless according 
to season and locality. Mr. Chapman gives October 1~r0 for its time of leaving 
the vicinity of New York. Here in southern Connecticut we have a good sprink- 


The Barn Swallow I4I 


ling of them until the third week of October, both as individual and as parts 
of the mixed flocks in which the Swallow family travels. Everything concern- 
ing the life of a Barn Swallow is simple, innocent and suggestive of the dawn of 
things, before wild nature had learned to be wily to protect itself against the 
wiles of man, yet this Swallow is quick of wit as of wing, where the care of its 
young is concerned, and I well remember the expedient resorted to by a pair 
of Swallows who could not coax their belated nestlings to leave, on a rafter in 
our hay-loft. 

The brood was ready to fly one warm day in the early part of August, or the 
parents at least thought so, but the nestlings were perfectly content where they 
were; the table was good and the view unexceptional. Coaxing did not avail, 
so the next day the parents pushed them out on the hay, and there they stayed 
for two days more.. But they either could not or would not fly. 

The third day, the parents refused to come further in than the window-sill, 
where they uttered a lisping chirp, fluttered their wings and held out insects 
temptingly. In this way the young were lured up, and finally spent the night 
on the sill, cuddled together. 

Next morning the youngsters were coaxed to the limbs of a hemlock, the near- 
est tree to the window, but one that offered perilous perching for their weak feet. 
Two of the four went in the green of the most steady branches, but two grasped 
twigs and swung overhead downward, having no strength of grip with which 
to retain an upright position. Under one bird were tiers of soft green branches, 
under the other, a stone wall. er 

The old birds gave a few sibilant twitters and darted almost invisibly high. 
In a few moments the sky was alive with Swallows, who fluttered about the bird 
who was suspended above the wall. To and fro they wheeled, keeping always 
above the little one, as if to attract its attention. The parents stayed nearer, 
one with a small moth in its beak, and seemed to urge an effort to secure it. 
Still above the wall the little bird hung motionless, except that its head was 
slowly drooping backward more and more, and the circling birds became more 
vociferous. Suddenly the parent who held the butterfly lit on the branch at 
the spot where the bird was clinging, while its mate darted swiftly close beneath. 
Whether the darting bird really pushed the little one up, or only made the rush 
to startle it to sudden action, I could not discover, but in a flash the deed was ac- 
complished and the bird righted. The visiting Swallows wheeled and lisped 
for a minute, and then were engulfed by the sky, as mist in the air blends 
with the sun-light. 

Questions for Teachers and Students 

What is the range of the Barn Swallow? Is it common in your vicinity? Is it in- 
creasing or decreasing ? What are the causes of increase or decrease? How many spe- 
cies of Swallows are there in the world? In North America? Wheredoes the Barn 
Swallow winter? When does he come in the spring? How late does he remain in the 


fall? Describe a Barn Swallow’s nest. How is the mud gathered and carried? What 
does the Barn Swallow feed upon? Is it injurious or beneficial ? 


The Audubon Docieties 


EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT 


Edited by WILLIAM DUTCHER 


Address all correspondence, and send all remittances for dues and contributions, to 
the National Association of Audubon Societies, 141 Broadway, New York City 


TWO NEW BIRD RESERVATIONS 


The Tortugas Reservation 


Since the year the Thayer fund was 
established, special protection has been 
given to the large bird colony on Bird Key 
in the Tortugas, with the result that, from 
a very small colony of Sooty and Noddy 
Terns, this island now supports very large 
numbers of these interesting birds, as 
shown by the report of Prof. John B. Wat- 
son, published in December (1907) BIRD- 
Lore. Recently, application was made to 
President Roosevelt to have the entire 
Tortugas group set aside as a bird reser- 
vation, and, with his usual willingness to 
help this Association in its bird protection, 
he issued the following: 


Executive Order 


It is hereby ordered that all islands em- 
braced within the group known as the 
Dry Tortugas, located in the Gulf of 
Mexico, near the western extremity of 
the Florida Keys, approximately in latitude 
twenty-four degrees, thirty-eight minutes 
north, longitude eighty-two degrees, fifty- 
two minutes west from Greenwich, and 
situated within the area segregated by a 
broken line upon the diagram hereto at- 
tached and made a part of this order, are 
hereby reserved and set aside for the use 
of the Department of Agriculture as a 
preserve and breeding-ground for native 
birds; but the reservation made by this 
order is not intended to interfere with the 
use of these islands for necessary military 
purposes under the Executive Order of 
September 17, 1845, creating the Dry 
Tortugas Military Reservation, nor to, 
in any manner, vacate such order, except 


that such military use shall not extend to 
the occupation of the islet known as Bird 
Key. This reservation to be known as 
Tortugas Keys Reservation. 

THEODORE ROOSEVELT. 
The White House, 

April. 6, 1908. 
(No. 779) 


The Niobrara Reservation 


In September, 1907, one of our valued 
correspondents wrote as follows: ‘‘ The 
Government has in the Fort Niobrara 
Military Reservation, Nebraska, about 
55,000 acres of sand plains and sand hills, 
the natural home of the Prairie Chicken 
and Sharp-tailed Grouse. The land can- 
not be used for farming purposes and only 
part of it can’be used for grazing. There 
is feed for these birds the entire year, as, 
in the last seven years, the sunflower has 
taken hold in the bare places and will, in 
time, cover the entire reservation, afford- 
ing abundant feed when the ground is 
covered with snow. The Niobrara river 
runs through the reservation and nearly 
every four hundred yards on the river is 
a cafion with a stream of water running 
its entire length, affording bird shelters 
in plum thickets, evergreen trees, willows 
and sumac.” I suggest that this be: set 
aside as a bird refuge. 

Pursuant to this suggestion, the follow- 
ing application was made to President 
Roosevelt: 

January 17, 1908. 
Hon. THEODORE ROOSEVELT, 
President United States, 
White House, Washington, D.C. 

Honored and respected sir:—I enclose 

you herewith for your information, copies 


(142) 


TORTUGAS KEYS RESERVATION 


For Protection of Native Birds 


FLORIDA 
Embracing all islands of the Dry Tortugas Group, 
Florida segregated by the broken line and 
designated “Tortugas Keys Reservation” 


= 


! 

' 

! 

! 

! 

! 

\ 

\ 
\ 

\ 


DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 
GENERAL LAND OFFICE 


Fred Dennett, Commissioner. 


(143)! 


144 


of two letters regarding the Military 
Reservation of Fort Niobrara, Nebraska, 
showing the status of the birds there. 

This Association was informed that the 
Government was to abandon Fort Nio- 
brara, and we were going to apply to have 
it made into a bird refuge, but, subse- 
quently, we were informed that it would 
be retained by the War Department as a 
Utilization Depot for the Remount System. 

The object of this letter is to ask your 
Excellency whether it would not be pos- 
sible to issue an order to prevent all shoot- 
ing of birds and game on this Military 
Reservation, in order that it may become 
a bird refuge in fact. If it is not within 
the province of the Chief Executive to do 
so, will you kindly refer me to the proper 
officer of the War Department to whom 
I may take this important matter ? 

The 55,000 acres in question are ad- 
mirably located for a breeding ground for 
game birds that are now fast disappearing, 


Bird - 


Lore 


and such an order will in no way conflict 
with the proposed use of the reservation. 

It is vitally important that as many 
reservations and harbors of refuge for 
game birds shall be made while we have 
any of them left; a few years from now 
will be too late. 

You are so heartily in sympathy with 
our work that I do not hesitate to apply 
to you for help in this special case. 

Very truly yours, 
WILLIAM DUTCHER, 
President. 


The application was promptly and 
favorably acted upon by the Chief Execu- 
tive, as detailed in the following corre- 
spondence and official notice. 


The White House, Washington 

April 1, 1908. 

My dear Mr. Dutcher:—Referring to 
your letter of recent date, I beg to send 
you for your information the enclosed 


NOTICE! 


OFFICE OF CHIEF QUARTERMASTER, 
DEPARTMENT OF THE MISSOURI, U.S. ARMY, 


Omaha, Nebraska, March 5, 1908 


By Order of the President of the United States. 


All persons are hereby prohibited from Shooting, Trapping, Catch- 
ing, or taking, dead or alive, by any device, on the 


Fort Niobrara Military Reservation in Nebraska, 


any Sharp or Pintail Grouse, Prairie Chicken, Quail (Bob White), Wild 
Ducks or Geese of any variety; any Woodcock, Snipe, Wilson-Snipe, Jack- 
snipe, Plover, Curlew, Virginia-rail, King-rail, Sora, Doves, Meadow-larks, 
Robins, or any birds of any species; any Beaver, Otter, Jack-rabbit, Cotton- 
tail-rabbit, Grey, Fox or Red squirrels, or any other game or wild animals; 
or any Fish, of any species. 


THE VIOLATION OF THIS; WILL SUBJECT OFFENDERS TO ARREST 
AND PROSECUTION IN THE UNITED STATES COURTS. 


D. E. McCARTHY, 


Major and Quartermaster, U. S. Army, 
Chief Quartermaster 


The Audubon Societies 


report from the War Department, with 
accompanying copy of a notice in regard 
to the killing of game on the Fort Niobrara 
Military Reservation. 
Sincerely yours, 
Wo. LoEs, Jr., 
Secretary to the President. 


War Department, Office of the Chief 
Clerk, Washington. March 30, 1908. 
My dear Mr. Loeb:—In connection with 
previous correspondence concerning the 
communication of Mr. William Dutcher, 
President of the National Association of 
Audubon Societies for the Protection of 
Wild Birds and Animals, in regard to the 
preservation of game on the Fort Niobrara 
Military Reservation, I transmit, here- 
with, copy of public notice prohibiting 
the shooting, trapping, or catching of 
wild game, etc., on said reservation, with 
the information that copies of the same 
have been posted at various places on and 
around the reservation. 
Very respectfully, 
JoHN C. SCOFIELD, 

Chief Clerk. 

Hon. William Loeb, Jr., 

Secretary to the President. 


Bird Refuges 


The importance of bird refuges and 
reservations is so great that every oppor- 
tunity is taken to secure them, and, to that 
end, a five years’ lease has just been taken 
of an island, containing thirty-six acres, in 
the Connecticut river, near Portland. 
In a future number of BirD-LORE we 
hope to present a good photographic view 
of this new bird refuge and a short ac- 
count of it from Mr. John H. Sage, one of 
our members. 

Negotiations are now pending, looking 
to the purchase of a marsh island con- 
taining some five hundred acres, on the 
New Jersey coast. This marsh contains 
the only colony of Laughing Gulls left in 
that state. If negotiations are successfully 
concluded, a diagram and account of the 
purchase will be furnished. Funds are be- 
ing raised by school children. 


145 


Field Work 


Our field agent, Mr. H. H. Kopman, 
is now conducting a bird survey along the 
west coast of Florida. He started from 
Pensacola late in April, and will make a 
critical examination of the Florida coast 
as far south as the mouth of the Caloosa- 
hatchee river, for the purpose of locating 
all of the bird colonies in the territory 
covered. It is hoped that this survey will 
enable us to make application for several 
more bird reservations. 

Our Northwest field agent, Mr. William 
L. Finley, accompanied by Mr. H. T. 
Bohlman, photographer, is now conduct- 
ing a bird survey through northern Cali- 
fornia and southern Oregon, which will 
extend as far east as Klamath Lake, in 
order to discover whether there are any 
large colonies of birds that need special 
protection. It is hoped that some new 
reservations may be established in this 
territory, based on the results of the ex- 
pedition now going on. If the survey is 
concluded in time, Messrs. Finley and 
Bohlman will re-visit the Three Arch 
Rocks Reservation on the Oregon coast, 
to compare the present condition of the 
colonies of birds there with the numbers. 
found when they visited the islands in 
the summer of 1904, since which date 
this reservation has received special 
warden protection. 

Mr. Herbert K. Job will make a visit, 
extending over a period of three weeks, 
to the Breton Island Reservation and the 
Louisiana Audubon Islands, and, possibly, 
to the Tern Islands Reservation, about the 
first of June. His trip will be made on the 
patrol boat, ‘Royal Tern,’ in charge of 
Captain Sprinkle and his assistant. 

In a future number of BIRD-LORE we 
expect to have a comprehensive report 
of the condition of the bird colonies at the 
several places visited, together with some 
good photographs of the birds. 


Reservation News 


Warden Kroegel, at Pelican Island, 
Florida, reports that the Pelicans have had 
a good season so far; about 1,500 young 


146 


Pelicans being raised, and there still being 
400 occupied nests. 

Warden Small, of Old Man Island, 
Maine, reports the largest colony of Her- 
ring Gulls on the island that he has ever 
seen, and also twenty-five pairs of Eider 
Ducks. Our colony of these birds bids 
fair to become a very large one in time. 


=i 


WARDEN SPRINKLE AND PATROL BOAT 


Warden Eastgate, of Stump Lake Reser- 
vation, reports: ‘“‘We have not had so 
many Ducks in the sloughs on the prairie 
as are, here now; Mallards and Pintails 
have good-sized nests of eggs. Think 
there will be a large number of local birds 
breed this year. Pinnated and Sharp- 
tailed Grouse are everywhere; the Pin- 
nated much thicker than ever before.”’ 

The above reports show the very great 
value, in actual results secured, of bird 
refuges. More of them are needed. 


Bird - 


Lore 


Legislation 


ViIRGINIA.—The legislative results se- 
cured during the present season have been, 
in the main, rather disappointing; prin- 
cipally, however, because we were unable 
to secure all of the improvements in hird 
and game laws that were desired. In only 


¥. 


fae ke 


“ROYAL TERN” 


one instance, however, was any decided 


setback experienced. This was in Virginia, 
where the legislature amended the model 
law by removing protection from Owls, 
Hawks, Eagles, Blackbirds, Ricebirds, 
Bobolinks and Doves, and amended the 
game law by removing all protection from 
Wilson’s Snipe and Robin Snipe. Such 
legislation is retrograde in character, and 
it is hard to understand how legislators of 
intelligence are willing to enact such 
statutes in view of the present general 


The Audubon Societies 


knowledge of the economic value of birds. 
This is a case where prejudice seems 
largely to have been a compelling force. 
For instance, why should the Ricebird 
be placed in the unprotected list in Vir- 
ginia, where no rice is now, nor has it ever 
been grown. When the Bobolink becomes 
the Ricebird on its southward migration, 
it is found in the same territory where 
Rail are hunted, and it is likely that the 
Rail shooters instigated the removal of 
protection from the Ricebirds in order that 
these birds might be shot without restric- 
tion; and, as there was little knowledge of 
or interest in birds among the legislators, 
this bad legislation was enacted. 


Mississippr.— The Legislature  ad- 
journed without the bill introduced by 
this Association having come to a vote. 
It was favorably reported by both the 
House and Senate Committees, and was 
on the calendar for final passage when the 
Legislature adjourned. Field Agent Kop- 
man reports that the time he spent upon 
the bill was not wasted, as the Governor 
will recommend its consideration at the 
next special session of the Legislature. 


SoutH Carorina.—A bill to improve 
the game law of this state was introduced 
by the Audubon Society, but, owing to the 
short session ot the Legislature —only 
forty days—it was not enacted before 
adjournment. The bill will be reintro- 
duced promptly at the next session of the 
Legislature in January, 1909. 


MaryLAnpD.—No changes of moment 
were made in the Maryland bird and game 
laws. A large number of local bills were 
introduced, but failed of passage. 


NEw JeRSEy.—A strenuous fight took 
place for the January first water-fowl and 
shore-bird law in this state, but it was only 
partially successful. Every possible legiti- 
mate pressure was brought to bear to have 


this necessary law adopted, but the large . 


majority of the citizens of the state who 
wished to have this law adopted were 
again over-ruled by the small minority. 


147 


There were several important gains 
made, as follows: Summer Woodcock 
shooting is prohibited. The open season 
for Ducks, Geese, Brant, and Swan is 
from October 15th to January Ist in ten 
of the twenty-one counties in the state. 
Unfortunately, these are the ten counties 
where there is very little water-fowl shoot- 
ing. In the other eleven counties, which 
include the entire coast, the open season 
for Ducks and Swan is from November 
1st to March 15th, and for Geese and 
Brant from November rst to March 25th. 
While this shortens the seasons materially, 
yet it still permits the killing of these fast- 
disappearing birds after January rst. 

There was no change in the shore-bird 
law, and they may still be killed in May 
and June; which is, in view of their rapidly 
decreasing numbers, an outrage. 

A resolution was introduced and adopted 
in the Senate, appointing a commission 
with four members to consider the subject 
of the game laws of the state, with orders 
to report a proper law at the next session 
of the Legislature. The commission con- 
sists of William J. Harrison, Senator from 
Ocean county; Everett Colby, Senator 
from Essex county; Prof. Alexander 
Hamilton Phillips, of Princeton Univer- 
sity; George Batten, President of the 
Association of New Jersey Sportsmen. 


NEw Yorxk.—The entire bird and game 
law of the state was revised at the sugges- 
tion of Governor Hughes. The revision 
was made by the President of the Forest, 
Fish and Game Commission, and the 
bills known as the Cobb-Mills bills were 
adopted by the Legislature almost unani- 
mously. 

While there were several amendments 
to the revision bills which were strongly 
urged by this Association, yet only one of 
them was adopted, namely, ‘‘ There shall 
be no open season at any time for Wood 
Duck.”’ This was an important and valu- 
able amendment, and New York is the 
third state to adopt a close season for this 
species of wild fowl. 

The hunting-license feature was adopted 
by the state. This is a very decided gain 


148 


and goes far to allay the feeling of disap- 
pointment among the members of the 
Audubon Society and the New York 
members of this Association. It will pro- 
vide a large fund for the use of the game 
commission in protection and education, 
and will be a very potent factor in sup- 
pressing illegal shooting and enabling 
the game wardens to identify violators of 
the law. Hereafter, any one found hunt- 
ing must have his license upon his person 
at the time, and must show it to any officer 
or other person on demand. The fact that 
a hunter has not a license on his person 
constitutes a violation of the law. 

The amendments that the Audubon 
Society of New York and this Association 
desired, were as follows: To stop the 
shooting of Brant on January first, making 
the law for this species of wild fowl the 
same as for Ducks, Geese and Swan, and 
also to prohibit the possession of wild fowl, 
except during the open season, instead 
of for sixty days thereafter; to make uni- 
form open seasons throughout the state 
for shore birds; to give protection to the 
valuable species of Hawks, and to prohibit 
the sale of wild birds’ plumage, irrespec- 
tive of whether said bird was captured or 
killed within or without this state. 

Commissioner Whipple was urged to 
admit these suggested and _ necessary 
amendments in the revision bill, but he 
was unwilling to hazard the passage of the 
bill as originally introduced, providing, 
among other things, the license feature, 
and he refused to have them made a part 
of the revision. He, however, is in sym- 
pathy with the proposed amendments, 
and has promised to give his support at 
the next session of the Legislature to a 
further effort for their adoption.—W. D. 


MASSACHUSETTS.—Early in the legis- 
lative session in Massachusetts, we were 
put on the defensive by a bill, introduced 
by Senator Treadway, of Berkshire, to 
abolish the commission on fisheries and 
game. This bill was defeated in committee, 
and the petitioners were given leave to 
withdraw. 

A bill was introduced by the State Board 


Bird - Lore 


of Agriculture for the purpose of establish- 
ing the position of State Ornithologist. 
The Ornithologist of the Board of Agri- 
culture has been an unpaid official. This 
bill establishes an official ornithologist 
with a salary and an appropriation for 
travelling expenses, apparatus, etc. The 
bill passed both Houses without opposition, 
and was approved by the Governor on 
March roth. 

House Bill No. 1,321 (new draft), pro- 
tecting gray squirrels at all times until 
October, 1910, passed and received the 
signature of the Executive on March 23. 

A local statute (House, No. 510), pro- 
hibiting the use of boats in the pursuit of 
wild fowl in certain Edgartown waters, 
was passed, and, on March 31, was ap- 
proved by the Governor. 

The attempt to secure a law giving 
deputies or game wardens the right of 
search without a warrant, which has failed 
for so many years, was renewed this year. 
This privilege is essential if the bird and 
game laws are to be enforced. The bill 
was reported by the Committee on Fish- 
eries and Game, but was defeated over- 
whelmingly in the House. The commis- 
sioners on fisheries and game consulted 
with the legislative committee and a new 
draft was framed and substituted, which 
passed both Houses. This bill (House, 
No. 1,279) was signed by the Governor 
on April zoth. It gives the officers power 
to request those suspected of violating the 
law to exhibit any bird, fish, or other ani- 
mals in their possession. Upon the refusal 
of the suspect to comply with the request, 
the officer may arrest without a warrant. 
The passage of this Act was largely due 
to the persistency of Dr. George W. Field, 
chairman of the commissioners on fish- 
eries and game. 

The scarcity of upland game birds gave 
rise to a sentiment in favor of a close sea- 
son of one year or more and several close- 
season bills were introduced. Finally, 
a bill (House, No. 505), introduced by 


.the Massachusetts Fish and Game Pro- 


tective Association, was passed as a com- 
promise measure, and on April 24 it 
received the signature of the Governor. 


The Audubon Societies 


A bill repealing the open season on 
introduced Pheasants, was championed 
by Senator Treadway, and was finally 
passed in a new draft (Senate, No. 330), 
which gives land owners engaged in prop- 
agating Pheasants the right to shoot a 
limited number of birds on their own prem- 
ises. This received the Executive’s ap- 
proval May 1. 

Two bills to require and provide for the 
registration of hunters were introduced. 
These bills were rather hastily drawn, and 
contained some unnecessary provisions. 
Representatives of the Commissioners on 
Fisheries and Game, the Patrons of Hus- 
bandry, the State Board of Agriculture, 
the Massachusetts Fish and Game Pro- 
tective Association, and the National 
Association of Audubon Societies, met 
with some interested members of the 
House and agreed upon a re-draft com- 
bining the best features of the two bills. 
This bill (House, No. 1,386), which had 
the active support of the Massachusetts 
Audubon Society, was reported after a 
favorable hearing by the legislative com- 
mittee on fisheries and game, passed both 
Houses and was signed by the Governor 
on May 2. ‘The bill passed the House of 
Representatives by a large majority, largely 
owing to the good work of Representative 
Leslie K. Morse, of Haverhill; but it was 
so strenuously opposed in the Senate by 
Senator Treadway and others that the 
most earnest efforts of the friends of the 
bill were required to secure its passage. 
The opposition came largely from the 
western part of the state. Senators Ab- 
bott, Stevens, and Jenney were among the 
strong friends of this bill. 

House, No. 507, a bill intended to pro- 
hibit all killing of shore birds and wild 
fowl from January 1 to September 1, was 
introduced by Representative Gates, of 
Westboro, and was supported by the 
Massachusetts Audubon Society. No 
bill for the protection of birds has excited 
so much interest as this. The hearing 
was the largest held before the legislative 
committee on fisheries and game, and 
many people appeared in favor of the bill 
who could not be heard. Among those 


149 


who spoke in its favor were many sports- 
men and bird protectionists, including 
Mr. Dutcher, President of the National 
Association, and Honorable Herbert Par- 
ker, former Attorney-General of Massa- 
chusetts. But a strong opposition devel- 
oped, coming mainly from market men, 
Brant shooters and Duck shooters, and 
as the majority of the members of the 
legislative committee on fisheries and 
game were residents of cities and towns 
on or near the shore, the influence exerted 
by gunners and market-men on these 
members prevented favorable action on 
the bill and the committee reported refer- 
ence to the next Legislature. A fight 
against this report may be made in the 
Senate. The end is not yet. 

The most important legislation secured 
thus far this year, is the bill for the regis- 
tration of hunters, which provides money 
for the enforcement of the game laws and 
bird laws, and makes possible the en- 
forcement of the license laws against 
non-resident and alien hunters. 


RHODE IsLAND.—Much time was spent 
by your agent in Rhode Island in the 
attempt to induce various organizations 
and individuals to support legislation for 
the protection of birds. All interested 
agreed that a bill for the registration or 
licensing of hunters was the greatest im- 
mediate need, for the state appropriates 
only a few hundred dollars for the enforce- 
ment of the game and bird laws. In con- 
sequence, the enforcement of the law is 
lax. A bill (Senate, No. 60), was introduced 
by the Senate committee on the Judiciary 
after a large and favorable hearing, but 
it was laid on the table in the Senate. 
It appears that a wajority of the Senators 
preferred, instead, a bill for a close season 
of one year on upland game birds. It was 
argued that it would be more effective 
protection to stop all inland shooting for 
one year than to restrict and regulate 
shooting by registration and license. It 
was also argued that,should a close season 
be established, there would be little reve- 
nue from hunting licenses, because there 
could be no legal shooting of upland game. 


150 


The close-season bill (Senate No. 76) 
passed the Senate and, at this writing, is 
in the hands of the House Committee on 
the Judiciary. 

A bill was introduced in the Senate to 
establish a close season on Ducks, Brant, 
Geese and Swans, from January 1 to 
September r. Another was introduced to 
protect shore birds from January 1 to 
August 1. These bills have been favorably 
reported in the Senate and have passed 
that body. They are, at present, in the 
House. Another Senate bill (No. 53), in- 
tended to repeal the law establishing a 
bounty on Hawks, Owls and Crows, is 
still in committee. The adjournment of 
the Legislature is expected soon. All these 
bills, with the exception of the bill for the 
protection of wild fowl, are in accord with 
the recommendations of the Bird Com- 
missioners of the State of Rhode Island. 

EDWARD HOWE ForBUSH. 


Another Reason for Wild Fowl Protec- 
tion 


The following is quoted from the Third 
Report of the Provincial Game and Forest 
Warden of the Province of British Colum- 
bia: ‘‘Ducks have again been noticeable 
by the smallness of their numbers, and 
the quantity shot has not even compared 
well with last year, which was a very poor 
year. Weather conditions were certainly 
unfavorable during the early part of the 
season, but lately this cannot be the rea- 
son. Year after year, the number of Ducks 
visiting our coasts get less and less, and, 
at the present rate of decrease, it simply 
means that in a few years no Ducks will 
come at all. There is little doubt that there 
is too much shooting. Every year there 
is a greater demand for ducks in the mar- 
ket, and every year there is a larger in- 
crease in the number of men out with 
guns; day after day it is one incessant 
fusilade, and a Duck no sooner appears 
on the scene than he is shot at, no matter 
what distance he is away. Then, too, 
shooting at night is still carried on in 
places, and this does more harm than 
anything else. 


Bird - Lore 


The only solution of the question is 
establishing sanctuaries for the birds to 
rest in and the adoption of the tag system, 
whereby the limit of Ducks killed by 
market hunters could be enforced.” 


A Good Example and Good Advice 


“T enclose check for five dollars as my 
fitst annual fee to the National Associa- 
tion, of which I would like to be made a 
sustaining member. I am very much 
interested in the preservation of those 
species of our birds that are nearest to 
extermination, and I wish to urge that no 
effort be spared to give such birds as the 
Willet and Least Tern absolute protection 
all the time, so far as it is within the power 
of the Society to do so. A species once lost 
can never be restored, and we have none 
to spare.” 


An Active Game Warden 


W. L. Giddings, a deputy in Ohio, says: 
“I have made a raid on the milliners of 
Columbus, and have convicted four firms 
for having aigrettes in their possession; 
three of which were fined $25 apiece, with 
costs, and one $50, with costs. They say 
they will not handle them any longer, and 
have cancelled their orders with New York 
firms for all bird plumage. I also have 
three cases in Cincinnati. I will give the 
other cities a visit as soon as possible, as 
the New York wholesalers are drumming 
trade out here at present. I also seized 
all aigrettes found in the above places of 
business, condemned them and turned 
them over to the State.” 


The Value of the Nighthawk 


Recently the stomach of a Nighthawk 
that was shot in Texas was examined by 
the experts in the Biological Survey at 
Washington, and in it were found 300 
mosquitoes. Any bird that will destroy 
such a large number of mosquitoes at one 
meal is worth to any locality at least $1 
a day, and any person who is willing 
to kill a Nighthawk should be arrested 


The Audubon Societies 


and confined in a county jail for at least 
thirty days. A recent case of vandalism 
has been called to the attention of this 
Association: A salesman in one of the 
western states was traveling in a buck- 
board and, to amuse himself, he carried 
a 32-caliber rifle with him, with which 
he shot Nighthawks from the fences at 
the roadside. One evening -he boasted 
that in a twenty-mile drive that day he 
had killed thirty-four Bull-bats, not one 
of which had he taken the trouble to pick 
up, but allowed them to lie where they 
had fallen. If each of the Nighthawks 
had eaten at one meal 300 mosquitoes, 
they would have destroyed 10,200 of these 
vicious insects, and the least punishment 
that could be wished for such a vandal is 
that 
could prey upon him at one time. 


the whole number of mosquitoes 


The Destruction of Plume-Birds* 


It is probable that a bill will shortly 
be introduced into Parliament with the 
object of preventing the destruction of 
wild birds for their plumage. A confer- 
ence on the subject, called by Lord Ave- 
bury, was held on March 13, when repre- 
sentatives were present from the British 
Museum (Natural History Department), 
Royal Society, Linnean Society, Zoologi- 
cal Society, Selborne Society, and the 
Royal Society for the Protection of Birds. 
The general provisions of the proposed 
bill were practically agreed upon. 


The Destruction of Lapwings 


The National Association of Audubon 
Societies urgently calls the attention of the 
officers of the Royal Society for the Pro- 
tection of Birds to the imperative necessity 
for some action to be taken to stop the 
killing of large numbers of Lapwings in 
England and their export to the United 
States to be served in the hotels and res- 
taurants of the large cities. Recently, 18,000 
Lapwings were found in one cold-storage 
house in Jersey City, N. J.; such an 


*From ‘Bird Notes and News’ organ of the 
Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, Lon- 
don, England. Spring number, 1908. 


151 
abnormal drain on a single species of 
birds cannot be maintained for any great 
length of time without the extinction of the 
species. 

What is needed as much as anything 
at the present time is an International 
Bird Protective Association, in order to 
present to the proper authorities of all the 
leading countries of the world the necessity 
for the suppression of the inter-country 
traffic in the wild birds of each country. 


AN INTERESTING AND VALUABLE 
COMPETITION 


The President of the National Associa- 
tion feels that he is barred from entering 
into the competition proposed below by 
The Royal Society for the Protection of 
Birds from the fact that he spends a goodly 
portion of his time in procuring legislation 
for the protection of birds, and his know- 
ledge of the subject would be a serious 
handicap to other competitors. He, how- 
ever, hopes that some of the bright young 
Americans who are known to be interested 
in the legal aspect of bird protection will 
enter the competition and will succeed in 
bringing to America the gold medal of the 
Royal Society. 


Regulations for International Competi- 
tion, 1908 


The Gold Medal of The Royal Society 
for the Protection of Birds (Great Britain) 
and Twenty Guineas are offered for the 
best Essay or Treatise on ‘‘Comparative 
Legislation for the Protection of Birds.” 
The essay should take the form of an 
epitome of the legislation in force in the 
various countries of Europe (Great 
Britain excepted), together with a com- 
parison of such legislation with: (a) The 
law and regulations in force in Great 
Britain.* (6) The proposals of the Inter- 
national Convention for the Protection 
of Birds Useful to Agriculture, signed at 


*Acts of 1880 (43 & 44 Vict., a 1881 (44 
& 45 Vict., c. 51), 1804 (57 & 58 ac ag 24), 
1896, (59 & 60 vies C. 56), t902 (2 E VI 
ice 6), 1904 (4 Edw. VII., c. 4), 1904 rat Edw. 
VII., c. 10), copies of which may be obtained 
from the Society, 3, Hanover Square, London. 


152 


Paris on March 19, 1902. (¢) The model 
law of the Audubon Societies adopted by 
certain of the United States of America. 
(The comparisons to be made in the order 
as set out above.) 

In comparing enactments of Legis- 
latures, the following points should be 
dealt with in the order named, and may 
be accompanied by suggestions and criti- 
cisms: 1. The close time appointed for 
all wild birds, or its limitation to certain 
species. 2. The protection afforded (a) to 
birds throughout the whole or part of the 
year; (6) to what birds; (¢) to nests and 
eggs; (d) to special areas or sanctuaries. 
3. The prohibition of the sale or possession 
of protected birds, eggs, or plumage. 
4. The schedules of “useful” or ‘inju- 
rious” birds published by any government 
or under protective laws, and the basis 
upon which such lists are and should be 
drawn up and published. 5. The local option 
allowed for the adoption or modification of 
the law of a country within its several 
states, provinces, districts, or munici- 
palities. 6. The working of the existing 
laws for the preservation of wild birds, and 
their enforcement by the police and courts, 
nature of penalties, forfeiture of nets, 
guns, etc. 7. The permission to take 
specimens for public museums. 8. The 
injury caused by the wholesale destruction 
of migratory birds when on migration. 
9g. The comparative economic value at- 
tached to particular species of birds in 
different countries. 

Essays, which may be written in either 
English, French, or German, should con- 
sist of not less than 10,coo nor more than 
25,000 words. They should be printed 
or typed on one side only of foolscap paper 
(22 x 32 meters), and be sent, postpaid, 
not later than December 31, 1908 (with 
the writer’s name and address in a sealed 
envelope) to the Honorable Secretary the 
Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, 
3 Hanover Square, London, England. 
Unsuccessful essays will be returned after 
the award has been made, but the Society 
reserves the right of printing the whole 
or part of any of the essays sent in. 

Judges will be appointed by the Council 


Bird - Lore 


of the Royal Society for the Protection of 
Birds, and their decision as to the merits 
of the essays must be regarded as final. 

The writers of essays adjudged first, 
second and third, may be recommended by 
the Judges for election as Honorary Life 
Members of the Society. 

The Gold Medal will be presented at 
the Annual General Meeting of the Society, 
in March, 1909. 

By order of the Council, 
(Signed) Monrtacu SHARPE, 
Chairman. 
FRANK E. LEMON, 
Hon. Secretary. 
3 Hanover Square, London, W., 
January 24, 1908 


Helpful Audubon Work 


A strong local Audubon Society has 
been organized at Riverside, Cal., and 
affiliated with the state Society. Francis 
Cuttle is president, A. N. Wheelock, S. C. 
Evans and Dr. Louise Clarke, vice-presi- 
dents, Leonard Coop, secretary and L. C. 
Waite, treasurer. The board of directors 
include the county and city school super- 
intendents, the mayor of the city, the 
president of the board of education and 
other leading men and women of the city. 
Game- and song-bird protective conditions 
in Riverside county have greatly improved, 
and the strongly favorable public senti- 
ment now made effective by organization, 
promises to practically stop such violations 
as have been too common in the past. 
Among the first acts of the new Society 
will be an effort for a city ordinance pro- 
hibiting sling-shots and air-guns, and an 
appeal to the county supervisors for an 
ordinance prohibiting all shooting on the 
public highways. A very efficient and 
active county game warden is now regu- 
larly employed, and the County Game 
Protective Association, of which W. A. 
Correll is president, and which is working 
along advanced protective lines, has closely 
co-operated with the State Audubon Soci- 
ety during the past year, in the interest 
of both game- and non-game-bird pro- 
tection. 


“If I could give a child but one book this year, it would be this,” 
was said of 


MABEL OSGOOD WRIGHT’S 
(GRAY LADY AND THE BIRDS 


STORIES OF THE The book will be welcomed by adults 
BIRD YEAR almost as heartily as by younger readers. 
FOR SCHOOL For teachers and parents and all who 

believe in bird protection, it provides a 
AND HOME means of sharing their pleasure in bird life 


with the children just when they will most 


With thirty-six plates in walks 
Mee Heine gladly receive it. 


half-tone, and twelve : SUAS ; 

It is accurate and, on the scientific side, 
dependable, but it is far more than that; 
it is a fascinating book of stories, a glimpse 


in colors, from studies 
made for the National 


Audubon Association into the riches of poetry and fancy asso- 
under the supervision ciated with feathered things. 

of its President, Decorated cloth, xx + 437 pages 

Mr. William Dutcher $1.75 net; by mail, $1.90 


By MABEL OSGOOD WRIGHT, author of 
BIRDC RAFT A Field Book of Two Hundred Song, Game 


and Water Birds. With 80 full-page plates 
by Louris AGASSIZ FUERTES. 


Eleventh Edition, xii + 317 pages, 
flexible cloth, rounded corners, $2 net 


and, with Dr. ELLIOTT COUES 
CITIZEN BIRD SCENES FROM BIRD-LIFE IN PLAIN 


ENGLISH FOR BEGINNERS. Profusely 
Illustrated by LOUIS AGASSIZ FUERTES. 


Cr., 8 vo. $1.50 net, postage 17 cents 
This was described by C. H. M., in Science, as “ by far the best bird book for 


boys and girls yet published in America,” and the statement has remained undisputed 
up to the publication of ‘Gray Lady and the Birds,” which is by one of its authors. 


THE MACMILLAN COMPANY, Publishers, New York 


Mrs. MABEL OsGoopbD WRIGHT’S Stories 


‘' Fragrant books that unfatlingly quicken one's sense of the 
joy and fineness of beautiful living . . friendly, savory, 
wholesome and genutine.’'—BOSTON HERALD. 


AUNT JIMMY’S WILL. ttustrated by FLORENCE SCOVEL SHINN. Cloth. $1.20, 
net. Also in the binding of Every Boy’s and Girl’s Series. 


Cioth. 75 cents. 
A story for girls, which should spread the gospel of sunshine in an inspiring way. 
DOGTOWN: Being Some Chapters from the Annals of the 
Waddles Family. 


Cloth, $1.50, net. 


\itustrated from photographs by the author 
Postage, 16 cents. 
Girl’s Series. 


1amo, 
Cloth 75 cents. 


Also in the binding of Every Boy’s and 
A compiete story by itself, but introducing characters already known to the read- 
ers of ‘‘Tommy-Anne’”’ and ‘‘Wabeno.”’ It is especially a book for dog lovers. 


TOMMY-ANNE AND THE THREE HEARTS.  ittustrated by ALBERT 
BLASHFIELD. Cloth. $1.50 


‘‘The child who reads will be charmed while he is instructed, and led on 
to make new discoveries for himself.’’—7he Nation. 


WABENO, THE MAGICIAN. — Fully illustrated by JOSEPH M. GLEESON. 
Cloth. $1.50 


‘“‘A sequel to ‘Tommy -Anne,’ which created something of a sensation in lit- 
erature for children a year ago, by reason of its quaint and bright originality.” 
—N. E. Journal of Education. 


THE DREAM FOX STORY BOOK. 


With 80 drawings by OLIVER HERFORD. 
Small! ato. $1.50, net. Postage, 13 cents 
‘Even quainter, queerer and jollier than Mrs. WRIGHT’s on are 
Billy Button’s remarkable, comical, lively adventures, most fitly illustrated by 
Oliver Herford.’’— The Outlook. 
FLOWERS AND FERNS IN THEIR HAUNTS. with itustrations from 
photographs by the author and J. HORACE McFARLAND. New edition uniform 
with the new edition of ‘‘ Birdcraft.’? tamo, cloth. $2.00, net. By mail, $2.15- 
A book about the wild flowers written from a new point of view—their relation to 
the landscape. The illustrations are novel and interesting. 


CHAPMAN. 


Edited by FRANK M, 
Illustrated by ERNEST THOMPSON SETON. Cloth. 
Postage, 16 cents 


FOUR- FOOTED AMERICANS AND THEIR KIN. 


$1.50, net. 
‘Books like this are cups of delight to wide-awake and inquisitive girls and 
boys. Here is a gossipy history of American quadrupeds, bright, entertaining 
and thoroughly instructive.’’— The Independent. 


THE MACMILLAN COMPANY, Publishers, New York 


Among Other Issues in the Two Series of 


THE AMERICAN SPORTSMAN’S LIBRARY 


EDITED BY CASPAR WHITNEY 


‘No books have ever come before us that so completely fill the want of Sportsmen and 
delight the general reader as the volumes in the American Sportsman's Library." 


— SHOOTING AND FISHING 
THE DEER FAMILY 
By the Hon. THEODORE ROOSEVELT, T. E. VAN DYKE, D. G. ELLIOTT 
and A J. STONE 
Illustrated by Carl Rungius and others. With Maps by Dr. C. Hart Merriam 


SALMON AND TROUT 
By DEAN SAGE, W. C. HARRIS, H. M. SMITH and C. H. TOWNSEND 
Illustrated by A. B. Frost, Tappan Adney, Martin Justice and others 


UPLAND GAME BIRDS 
By EDWYN SANDYS and T. S. VAN DYKE 
Illustrated by Louis Agassiz Fuertes, A. B. Frost, J. O. Nugent and C. L. Bull 


THE WATER-FOWL FAMILY 
By L. C. SANFORD, L. B. BISHOP and T. S. VAN DYKE 
Illustrated by L A. Fuertes, A. B. Frost and C. L. Bull 


BASS, PIKE, PERCH, AND OTHERS 
By JAMES A. HENSHALL, M D. 
Illustrated by Martin Justice and Charles F. W. Mielatz 


THE BIG GAME FISHES OF THE UNITED STATES 
By CHARLES F. HOLDER 
Illustrated by Charles F. W. Mielatz and others 


MUSK-OX, BISON, SHEEP AND GOAT 
By CASPAR WHITNEY, GEORGE BIRD GRINNELL and OWEN WISTER 
Illustrated by Carl Rungius and others 


GUNS, AMMUNITION AND TACKLE 
THE SHOTGUN, by CAPTAIN A W MONEY; THE HUNTING RIFLE, 
by HORACE KEPHART; THE THEORY OF RIFLE SHOOTING, 
by W. E. CARLIN; THE PISTOL AND REVOLVER, by A. L. A. H1IM- 
MELWRIGHT, and THE ARTIFICIAL FLY, by JOHN HARRING- 
TON KEENE 


THE SPORTING DOG 
By JOSEPH A. GRAHAM. Fully illustrated 


PHOTOGRAPHY FOR THE SPORTSMAN NATURALIST 
By L. W. BROWNELL. Fully illustrated from photographs by the author 


IN PREPARATION 
THE BEAR FAMILY 
By DR. C. HART MERRIAM. With many illustrations 


COUGAR, WILD CAT, WOLF AND FOX 


With many illustrations 


Cloth, cr. 8vo, gilt top and cover design. Each, $2 net. Postage, 15c. 


THE MACMILLAN COMPANY, Publishers, New York 


J. HORACE MCFAHLAND CO., MT. PLEASANT PRESS, HARRISBURG, PAs 


The Foremost Recent Book on Animals 


By ERNEST INGERSOLL 


LIFE OF ANIMALS: The 


Mammals 


Second Edition, Enlarged. 555 Pages, Octavo. Decorated Cloth 
z 250 Illustrations. $2 net; By Mail, $2.24. 


HE idea of the book ts to interest the reader in the life of the four-footed 

animals, not in their anatomy, nor in their imaginary sentiments; but in the 

part they daily play in the world around them, rather than in their post- 
tion in a museum or a scheme of classification. This presentation of the theme has 
met with general approval. The critic of The Independent believes that it ‘“contains 
just the information about living and extinct species of mammals, especially those 
most familiar, which the general non-zodlogical reader demands.’’ Putnam’s Monthly 
has declared it “‘the best book of its kind which has appeared up to the present 
time.’’ Says the Chicago Post: ‘‘Ernest Ingersoll has for a long while been doing fine 
work . . . ‘The Life of Animals’ is just the book one wishes might be in every 
home where there are children and young people. Mr. Ingersoll has in excellent 
degree the knack of presenting in clear, sympathetic and attractive manner scien- 
tific information, zodlogical and geological, and with it a free mingling of the his- 
torical, the romantic and the adventurous. ‘There is, however, a commendable 
absence of the . . . exaggeration of the human-like qualities in animals.’’ 

Along with this popularity the scientific accuracy of the book is well recognized, 
and it has been adopted as a book of instruction in colleges. Nowhere else is so 
intelligently traced the relation between the past (fossil history) and the present of 
the families in this most important of all animal tribes; nowhere else will be found 
explained many curious customs, such as the origin of the habit of storing winter 
food, how the opossum came to “‘play *possum,”’ etc. 


By the same author 


WILD NEIGHBORS: Outdoor Studies in 
the United States 


With numerous photographic illustrations. Cloth, $1.50 


‘*Such pleasant books as this of Mr. Ingersoll’s are delightful to both old and 
young, and ought to be put into the hands of every lad on the farm.’’—Detroit 
Free Press. 


THE MACMILLAN COMPANY, PUBLISHERS 
NEW YORK 


JULY—AUGUST, 1908 


EDITED BY 


FRANK M. CHAPMAN 


PUBLISHED FOR THE AUDUBON SOOIETIES 
BY 


The Macmillan Company 


HARRISBURC PA. 
LONDON 


COPYRIGHT, 1908. BY FRANK . CHAPMAN 


20c. a Copy 
St a Year 


BHird= Lore 


July - August, 1908 


CONTENTS 


GENERAL ARTICLES | PAGE 
FRONTISPIECE IN COLOR—KINGBIRD, GRAY KINGBIRD, WooD PEWEE AND 
WESTERN: WOOD PEWEE: 23205. 4 estes nace ene teeee area e eee Bruce Horsjall.. 

THE FisH HAWKS OF GARDINER’S ISLAND. [Illustrated -..... Frank M. Chapman.. 153 

THE RETURN OF THE SNOWY HERON. 2227 22 eee ise: Herbert Ravenel Sass.. 160 

GRAY KINGBIRD. dllustrahon esac ee ee eee nee ee George Shiras, 3d.. 162 

A: LiIrtrce BLUE sHERON ROOK ERM 232: - ee Pere oe eee oe eer M. Harry Moore.. 163 
THE MIGRATION OF FLYCATCHERS. Fifth Paper. Illustrated with colored plates 

from drawings by Louis Agassiz Fuertes and Bruce Horsjal: ..... W.W. Cooke.. 166 

NicuTruaAwE: [lusiration so) ate eee cca BERS Si Sate Warren C. Tudbury.. 170 

NOTES: FROM FIELD AND STUDY. 252.4 = 2 eee ee eee ee Lia 


B.S. Bowdish; A Patr oF BLUE-GRAY GNATCATCHERS THAT MOVED THEIR 
Nest, Angus McKinnon; A Humaine Brrp’s Toiret, Geo. L. Moxley ; BirD 
NOTES FROM CuiIcaco, Newton L. Partridge ; Two SPARROW EPISODES, Leander 
S. Keyser; A CoRREcTION, Anne A. Crolius; A FLICKER’S Home, B.S. Bowdish. 


BOOK NEWS, AND REVIEWS .--22. 1.505. eee = fag Peet 
OF THE CoTTOoN BoLL WEEVIL BY BIRDS IN WINTER; CASSINIA; BIRDS OF THE 


New Haven ReEGiIon; BirpDs oF PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND; THE ORNITHOLOG- 
ICAL MAGAZINES; BooK NEWS. 


ED TTORIAD fore eee 2k ee Or ee ier Bae SinSiw eat a ela uale Seis ie RIG eae a RRS SIT Ne, Sacer eee 

EDUCATIONAL LEAFLET NO. 33. Tort TREE Swattow, with colored plate by Bruce 
ELON SF OW sors SEs Na igs so eal BS ee eC te Mabel Osgood Wright.. 179 

AUDUBON SOCIETIES—EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT................-......+-- Pete 183 


ImpoRTANT NOTICE; LEGISLATION IN MASSACHUSETTS, RHODE ISLAND, LOUISIANA, 
OKLAHOMA AND GEORGIA. RESERVATION NEWS FROM FLORIDA, LOUISIANA, 
CONNECTICUT AND Mussourr; BAHAMA NeEws; THE PLUME TRADE; A 
PLEASANT LETTER; IN MEMORIAM; ANNOUNCEMENT; WOMAN’S CLUBS. 


«"zManuscripts intended for publication, books, etc., for review and exchanges, should be 
sent to the Editor, at the American Museum of Natural History, 77th Street and 8th Avenue, 
New York City, N. Y. 


SPECIAL NOTICE 


We take the liberty of sending this number of BIRD-LORE 
to subscribers whose subscription expired June 1, 1908, 
in the belief that the matter of renewal has been overlooked. 
On renewal, a copy of the Colored Wild Turkey Plate 
(see next page) will be forwarded. 


Entered as second-class mail matter in the Post Office at Harrisburg, Pa. 


‘ Pei, ae 2 
ae: poe Bae Re ae 
Se mat, PA A PESOS ere o BA ae 


Reduced copy of the colored plate of the Wild Turkey sent to Subscribers 
to Vol. X, 1908, of Birp-Lore 


THE CONDOR 4,Marazine of 


Western Ornithology 


Edited by J. GRINNELL 


““OFFICIAL ORGAN OF THE COOPER ORNITHOLOGICAL CLUB”? 
Volume ro (zg908) Better Than Ever 


Half-tones from Life ) The Delight of Bird Students and 
Articles by Active Ornithologists itn oveiencecry where 
Make-up ) ; 


PUBLISHED BI-MONTHLY 
Annual subscription, $1.50, net, in advance. Single copies, 30c. Foreign subscription, $1.75 
J. EUGENE LAW, Business Manager, HOLLYWOOD, CAL. 


NATURALIST 
GRAFLEX 


All the features that make the Graflex Camera 
indispensable to the outdoor photographer are found 
in the Naturalist Graflex. 


The image can be seen full size of negative, 
up to the instant of exposure. 


Equipped with focal-plane shutter giving exposure 
from time to 1/1000 of a second. 


Extra-long draw of bellows for use with Tele- 
photo and other long-focus lenses, in photographing 
distant objects. 


The special construction of the Naturalist Graflex, 
allows the operator to remain concealed while focus- 
ing and making exposure. 


Mr. Frank M. Chapman uses and recommends 
the Graflex Camera. 


Graflex & Graphic Catalog at your dealer’s or, 


FOLMER G6 SCHWING DIVISION 
Eastman Kodak Company 
ROCHESTER, N. Y. 


The Wilson Bulletin 


Is a quarterly journal devoted to 
the study of the birds as we find 
them in the fields and woods. 


It is particularly concerned about the study 
of the whole life-history of each species, 
and about the effects of advancing civiliza- 
tion upon the lives of all birds. It urges 
the great importance of making a census 
of our bird population for the purpose 
of determining accurately what change 
there may be in numbers due to changing 


conditions. It is the official organ of the | 


Wilson Ornithological Club, which num- 
bers among its members some of the 
most prominent American ornithologists. 
Carefully selected illustrations appear in 
each number. 


15 cents a number; 50 cents a year 


Address 
LYNDS JONES, Editor, Oberlin, Ohio. 


THE JOURNAL 
OF THE MAINE 
ORNITHOLOGICAL 
SOCIETY 


The roth volume will contain 
articles on Maine birds by the leading 
ornithologists of the state, as well as 
copious bird notes of current interest. 

The issues for the year will be on 
the first of March, June, September 
and December. 


W. H. Brownson, Editor, Portland, Maine 
Frank T. Noble, Associated, Augusta, Maine 


Subscription, $1 a year 


Send stamp for sample copy 
Address— 


W. H. BROWNSON 
85 Market Street, PORTLAND, MAINE 


Bausch & 
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which the exacting pho- 
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Send for newillustrated 
circulars showing the pos- 
sibilities of the Series IIb 
and Ic Tessars. 


PRISM 


is a little magazine of lens 
information. 
Send for copy 

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graphic Lens, Field-glass, 
Microscope, Laboratory 
Apparatus, Scientific or 
Engineering Instrument 
is a mark of quality. 


BAUSCH & LOMB 
OPTICAL CO: 


CARL ZEISS, JENA 


OFFICES: SUE WASHINGTON 
NEW YORK SAN FRANCISCO 
BOSTON LONDON 

CHICAGO FRANKFORT 0/M 
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GEORGE N. SAEGMULLER 


THE GUIDE TO NATURE 


An Illustrated Monthly Magazine for Adults 


‘Devoted to commonplace nature with uncommon interest 


STAMFORD, CONNECTICUT. 


=. 


W 


EDWARD F. BIGELOW, Managing Editor 


FOUR GREAT SPECIAL NUMBERS 


September, October, November and December, 1908 


SECOND GREAT ENLARGEMENT AND IMPROVEMENT. 
With the June issue, The Guide to Nature commenced its second era 
of three months with so many improvements as to delightfully sur- 

prise every patron. Beginning with the September number, there is another 
decided advance, and the numbers for September, October, November and 
December will eclipse all previous efforts in value and interest to readers. 

There is to be a new and beautiful cover, and many other mechanical 
improvements. We have in hand and there are promised a large number of 
interesting articles and expressive photographs. Several new features which 
we are not free yet to announce are in preparation. —The September number 
will surprise and delight. 


It has taken a few months to ‘‘find ourselves.’’ But we can tolerate the 
delay in the satisfaction that we are doing the “‘finding.’’ It takes a little time 
to get under full headway. By the September issue we will have had that time. 


The magazine just as it is in June, July and August is of higher grade 
than any other nature magazine ever published. It fits the present increasing 
interest. We-have full confidence that those who know the magazine agree 
with that statement. 


Neither the Prospectus nor any form of announcement can fully portray 
the merits of the magazine. We ask a fair trial and your hearty coéperation. 
Let the magazine speak for itself and let us have the benefit of your suggestion 
and criticisms. 


Single copy, 15c. One year, $1.50 


Less than one year at single copy rates, with the exception that to new 
subscribers only is offered a four months’ trial for 5o0c. 


HBRVCE. HORSFAL LR 
-/9 08 -- 


1. KINGBIRD 3. WESTERN Woop PEWEE 
2. Woop PEWEE 4. Gray KINGBIRD 


(ONE-HALF NATURAL SIZE) 


Wird= Lore 


A BI-MONTHLY MAGAZINE 
DEVOTED TO THE STUDY AND PROTECTION OF BIRDS 


OrriciAL ORGAN OF THE AUDUBON SOCIETIES 


Vol. X JULY—AUGUST, 1908 No. 4 


The Fish Hawks of Gardiner’s Island 


By FRANK M. CHAPMAN 
With photographs by the author 


INCE the publication of Alexander Wilson’s ‘American Ornithology’ 
S the Fish Hawks of Gardiner’s Island have figured in the literature of or- 

nithology, and it is characteristic of their delightful home, that, owing to 
the preserving influences of insular life, the birds are. apparently nearly as abund- 
ant there today as they were a hundred years ago. 

The volume (Vol. V) of Wilson’s work in which the Fish Hawk is treated ap- 
peared in 1812. In it the Mr. Gardiner who was then proprietor of the island, is 
quoted as saying that there were at “least three hundred nests of Fish Hawks that 
have young. . . .”’ Today I estimate the number at between one hundred and 
fifty and two hundred, but the difference between these figures and those of 
1812 may be less real than due to errors in estimate. In any event, Gardiner’s 
Island holds the largest Fish Hawk colony in this country—possibly the largest 
in the world—and the conditions under which many of the birds nest offer 
exceptional opportunities for a study of their habits. 

In Brrp-Lore for December, 1903, I gave a brief account of some studies 
made on Gardiner’s Island early in June 1go1, and in July 1902, and this is 
now supplemented by the results of observations made on June 17-20 of the 
present year. 

Mr. Gardiner tells me that the Fish Hawks arrive on the island March 
20, and depart on September 20. That the same birds return year after year 
to the same nest is commonly believed, and in at least one instance this belief 
was proven true by Mr. Gardiner’s grandfather who placed a metal band on 
the tarsus of a Fish Hawk which for many seasons occupied a certain nest. 

Mr. Gardiner does not confirm current statements to the effect that the 
Fish Hawks repair their nests in the fall; but in the spring there is much activity 
in nest-building even by birds whose homes are apparently already habitable. 
The birds gather sticks from the ground and, as I noticed in June last, they 
also break them from the trees by flying at or dropping on branches and grasp- 
ing them with their talons. Eel grass is a favorite nest-lining and the birds 


15a! Bird- Lore 


often fly about with four- or five-foot lengths of this grass streaming out behind 
like a long tail. 

While most of the Gardiner’s Island Fish Hawks select normal nesting 
sites in trees, about ten pairs of birds place their nests on the ground, and these 
ground-nesting birds as a rule build on the beach. All the pictures here shown 


<q 


Th ade) Sa 
Wet ia RE 
THE OBSERVATION ReaD IN POSITION 


ae 
aN% 4 


FS 


are of these beach nests. Some, it will be observed, are small while others hold 
several cartloads of sticks. Such variation is in part individual and in part due 
to the age of the nest. In the Brrp-Lore article before referred to I have ex- 
pressed the belief that these nests are built by birds which have not inherited 
the tree-building instinct common to their species, but which, nevertheless, 
succeed in rearing a family because of the absolute protection afforded by their 
insular environment. I do not observe that the number of beach nests has 
increased since rgor and the ground-nesting habit does not, therefore, appear 
to be hereditary. 

The love of Fish Hawks for their nest-site has often been commented on 
and there are many illustrations of it on Gardiner’s Island. Nests built in cedars 
in time often break the tree, when a new nest is constructed on the ruins of the 
old one. In one instance, a tall tree standing alone in a field had held a Fish 
Hawk’s nest for as many years as any one could remember. During a storm it 
fell and the nest was scattered over the ground. The birds then attempted 


The Fish Hawks of Gardiner’s Island 155 


to build a new nest on the 
nearly horizontal trunk of the 
tree at its junction with the 
stump, to which it was. still 
slightly attached; but as fast as 
the sticks were brought they fell 
to the ground a few feet below 
where a pile of them bore testi- 
mony to the birds’ failure to 
comprehend the new conditions 
by which they were confronted. 

Eggs are not laid until seven 
or eight weeks after the birds’ 
arrival from the south; a delay 
which, in view of the abundant 
(formerly, at least) food supply it 
is difficult to explain. The pe- 
riod of incubation is said to be 
four weeks, June 2, being the 
earliest date on which I have 
found young. 


FISH HAWK RETURNING TO NEST 


The young are in the nest about six weeks. So far as I have observed, 
they are under the immediate care of the female who is almost constantly with 


FISH HAWK RETURNING TO NEST 


them while the male occupies 
a perch near by. While both 
birds whistle shrilly when one 
is near the nest, it is excep- 
tional for them to make any 
show of defending their young 
by actual attack. I have 
never been threatened by the 
beach-nesting birds, but one 
which occupied a tree dove . 
at me repeatedly when I 
climbed to the nest, coming 
uncomfortably near at each 
swoop. 

The young are reared on 
the restricted diet of their par- 
ents, and so far as my obser- 
vations go the fish is captured 
and brought to the nest by 
the male, usually after he has 


156 Bird - Lore 


=< TE ae 


FISH HAWK RETURNING.TO NEST 
satisfied his own appetite by eating part of it. Incidentally it may be remarked 
that the Gardiner’s Island birds secure most of their fish from the numerous 
fish traps which, during the sum- 
mer, are set about the island. They 
sit patiently on one of the poles to 
which the net is attached until op- 
portunity offers, when they jump 
down to the water for their prey,—a 
far less interesting method of feed- 
ing than the thrilling plunge from 
the air. 

Until the present year I had not 
seen the Fish Hawk feed its young; 
when, after several hours’ waiting, 
the act was seen many times in two 
different nests. It is explained by 
the accompanying photograph in 
which the female, after tearing small 
pieces from a fish in the nest, offers 
it to her young, usually turning her 
head on one side while the young 
birds pick the food from her bill. 
Note the great length of the !egs Young Fish Hawks are models 


| 
i 
| 
| 


The Fish Hawks of Gardiner’s Island 157 


in behavior. Their obedience 
is instant and enduring. At 
the complaining alarm whistle 
of the parent, they squat flat 
in the nest and hold their 
position, possibly for hours, 
or until the old bird is reas- 
sured and permits them to 
raise their heads. Unlike 
young Terns, Gulls, or Skim- 
mers, they make no effort to 
move when touched, doubt- 
less because they have no 
means of escape. They there- 
fore not only look, but act 
like dead birds. One can turn 
them on their backs or place 
them in any position ; putty- 
like they will remain, their 
only movement being a rare 
wink of the half-closed but 


FISH HAWK 


ALIGHTING 


The nest held three young (compare picture of feeding scene), 
which are squatting low and are not visible 


staring yellow-brown eye. When, however, the parent’s suspicions are allayed, 
and the young are permitted to move, they are often surprisingly alert and 


active. 


The beach nests are exceptionally well situated for the purposes of bird 
photography, and three of these nests furnished the subjects of my recent studies. 


on ‘ =a en F 
FISH HAWK FEEDING YOUNG 


158 Bird - Lore 


These were conducted from the umbrella blind which I find indispensable 
to success in any effort to gain an insight into the home-life of birds. Both nests 
and blind were conspicuous objects on the beach and, as in many other instances, 
it proved to be important to have a codperator whose departure, after I had 
entered the blind, apparently reassured the owners of the nest within thirty 


coe eS at 
FISH HAWK LEAVING NEST 
An Audubon Society Warning Notice at the left 

feet of which the blind was placed. To enter the blind alone, is to invest it with 
your personality, when the bird will not return to its nest until the impression 
created by your presence has become dimmed. At the best the blind itself is 
regarded with much suspicion, and although the bird may return to her nest 
before your companion is two hundred yards away, she regards the blind intently, 
peering with a sinuous motion of the neck as though her gaze would penetrate 
the cloth itself. Some birds are satisfied more easily than others and after half 
an hour accept the blind without further question. Others keep it under close 
surveillance for two hours and during this time the slightest sound or movement 
of the cloth is greeted with the complaining alarm whistle, which, if the cause 
be continued, arises to a shrill crescendo. 

In studying the life of the second nest here figured, the blind was entered at 
eleven o’clock, when the male was seen flying about with a bit of fish which 
he was evidently about to bring to the nest. The female returned to the nest 
within ten minutes after my companion left me, but it was not until 12:50 that 
she ceased to regard the blind with more or less alarm. During this time the 
male flew about rapidly with the bit of fish still grasped in his left foot, or perched 


The Fish Hawks of Gardiner’s Island 159 


on the ground a hundred yards away. At 12:50 the female dropped all caution, 
and the previously often repeated alarm note was replaced by a wholly different 
call, a high, rapidly uttered fweet-tweet-tweet, which proved to be a food call 
to the male. At one o’clock, in response to it, he came to the nest, but the blind 
was too near, and, taking wing almost as he alighted, returned to his perch 
on the beach. Again the female uttered her food call and the young were now 
permitted to move about the nest. Finally the male came, but, as before, his fears 
overcame him and he departed quickly, taking the fish with him. Three times 
this performance was repeated, and on the fourth, the female, losing patience 
or prompted by hunger, attempted to take the fish from his foot with her bill, 
when, as the male arose, the fish was pulled from his grasp and dropped over 
the edge of the nest to the sand at its base. This was a catastrophe with which 
neither bird was prepared to cope. The male made no move to get another 
fish, but went back to his perch in the meadow. The female repeated her food 
call more loudly and the young apparently asked for food, but no experience 
had fitted her to deal with this chain of events and the fish at the foot of the 
nest was left where it fell. 


YOUNG FISH HAWKS FEIGNING DEATH 


The Return of the Snowy Heron 


By HERBERT RAVENEL SASS 


, \HAT the Snowy Heron (Egretta candidissima) would ever reéstablish 
itself in its former breeding places on the South Atlantic coast north 
of Florida seemed, until very recently, a possibility so remote as to be 

unworthy of serious consideration. Twenty-five years ago, it is true, this species 
was common in the South, breeding in thousands on small islands or ‘ham- 
mocks’ in the salt marshes—a race so strong in numbers, so beautiful, and so 
harmless to man that none could foresee the doom which was so shortly to over- 
take it. Yet, when once Fashion had decreed that the Snowy Heron’s delicate 
nuptial plumes be used to ornament women’s hats, this loveliest of all our marsh- 
land birds was in a very short time almost blotted out of existence. Along this 
coast—which for excellent reasons shall be nameless—where formerly it nested 
in such multitudes, it was considered, up to a few weeks ago, practically, if 
not absolutely, extinct. 

On May 15, 1908, while exploring certain marshes and sea-beaches in quest 
of breeding colonies of birds, I was informed of a certain small island or ham- 
mock in the marsh which was a favorite resort of white and blue ‘Cranes.’ 
Supposing that these ‘Cranes’ were merely Little Blue Herons—an abundant 
species—in the immature and adult phases, this information seemed of slight 
importance; but, as the hammock referred to lay close to the river down which 
our launch was proceeding, we decided to land and have a look at it. The river, 
which is here a broad tide-water stream, is bordered on either side by wide 
areas of salt marsh; and presently, when we were still some miles distant, the 
skipper pointed out the island where he had seen the ‘Cranes.’ Watching it idly 
as the launch sped swiftly down the river, we could see a few Herons —some 
white, some dark in color—flying about above the dense bushes covering the 
island. At that distance, however, we could distinguish nothing to arouse my 
suspicions that the birds were other than Little Blue Herons; and it was not 
until we had left the launch and were ploughing our way through the gummy 
‘pluff? mud toward the ‘hammock’—which was situated in the marsh about 
one hundred and fifty yards from the river—that I suddenly realized that we 
had discovered a strong breeding colony of the supposedly vanished Snowy 
Heron, and that the dark birds which I had thought were Little Blues were 
in reality Louisiana Herons. 

To describe in detail my first visit to this heronry is inadvisable for several 
reasons. In the first place, we discovered later another heronry where a still 
larger colony of Snowies is established; and moreover I made several subse- 
quent visits to the two hammocks which were in some respects more satisfactory 
than my first visit. It seems best, therefore, to describe collectively the results 
of my various trips to these most interesting localities. : 

The two little islands or hammocks upon which we found the Snowy Herons 


(160) 


The Return of the Snowy Heron 161 


breeding resemble each other quite closely. Both are surrounded by marsh 
or ‘pluff? mud and both are clothed with a dense cover of bushes or low trees, 
few of them more than fifteen feet in height. The first hammock discovered 
has an area of about three acres, while the second is somewhat larger. The 
smaller hammock is completely covered by a thick growth of ‘sparkleberry’ 
bushes, yuccas, and palmettoes, while on the other island the yuccas and pal- 
mettoes are absent or inconspicuous and the sparkleberries form almost impene- 
trable clumps or thickets surrounding a number of small grass-grown, open 
spaces. 

The bird population of these two little marsh-land strongholds is remark- 
ably large considering the small size of each hammock. The Herons observed 
belong to five species—Snowy, Louisiana, Little Blue, Green, and Black-crowned 
Night Heron; and in addition hundreds of Boat-tailed Grackles, a few Red- 
winged Blackbirds, a pair of Carolina Doves, and a few Nonpareils are rearing 
their young in close proximity to the nests of their larger long-legged neighbors. 

Disregarding the smaller birds and considering only the Herons, we esti- 
mated the population of the smaller hammock at between six hundred and seven 
hundred, and of the larger at not less than a thousand. On each island the Louis- 
jana and Green Herons outnumber the other species, though, especially on the 
larger island, the Night Herons are well represented. We saw only a few Little 
Blues—almost all of them immature birds whose white plumage was flecked 
here and there with slate. 

All these, however, are common species, mentioned only because we found 
them breeding in close association with their rare kinsman, the subject of this 
article. The number of Snowies observed at the smaller heronry we estimated 
at between one hundred and one hundred and fifty, while the number seen at 
the larger island was hardly less than two hundred. These figures, however, 
may be either considerably too large or too small, for actual counting was an 
impossibility. 

At each island, as we approached, the birds would rise from the bushes in 
successive waves or clouds, so rapidly that, by the time we had counted forty 
or fifty Snowies among their number, we would have to give up the attempt. 
At the larger heronry, the Snowies were very wild, and after flying about in the 
air for a few minutes, most of them betook themselves out into the marsh and 
alit about a quarter of a mile away. At the other island they are much tamer— 
though not nearly so tame as the graceful Louisianas which would pass and 
repass close above our heads or alight on the tops of the bushes less than twenty 
feet from us. The Night Herons also were rather shy, most of them raising high 
in the air and sailing about well out of range. The scene was always one of 
great animation. Hundreds of birds were continually wheeling about above 
the bushes, Louisianas and Greens for the most part, but with a good sprinkling 
of Snowies and Night Herons. Others fluttered from place to place, while others 
again perched on the tops of the bushes around us, eyeing us with the greatest 


162 Bird - Lore 


curiosity. The Snowies, so far as I observed, remained absolutely silent, but 
the Louisianas constantly uttered their queer calls, sounding like the quacking 
of ducks, while the Green and Night Herons were especially noisy, and the 
scores of young Grackles flitting from bush to bush were never silent for a moment. 

Among the hundreds of nests on each island we found only one which we 
could say positively belonged to a pair of Snowy Herons. The nests and eggs 
of the Snowy, Louisiana and Little Blue are practically indistinguishable from 
one another; and I was not aware of any differences by which we could separate 
the downy young of these three species, I was unable to form any estimate of 
the number of Snowy Heron nests on either island. Moreover, the parent birds 
would not visit the nests while we were nearby, although they often perched 
on the tops of the bushes in which the nests were situated. On all three of my 
visits—May 15, 22, and 29—I saw many nests which contained young birds 
covered with yellowish white or cream-buff down; and some of these must 
undoubtedly have been young Snowies, though most of them were probably 
Louisianas. Probably, also, some of the nests which contained eggs still un- 
hatched belonged to the Snowies. It is surprising, however, that we found no 
Snowies among the nestlings which had passed beyond the downy stage. I can 
explain this only on the assumption that the Snowies laid their eggs later than 
the Louisianas and Little Blues and that none of their young had begun to acquire 
feathers at the time of my last visit on May 29. In only one instance did we find 
evidence which clearly proved a nest to be the property of a pair of Snowies. 
This nest was found on the smaller island on May 15 and upon it sprawled a dead 
Snowy Heron with one unbroken egg beneath the lifeless body. 

Definite measures are being taken in coéperation with the National Associa- 
tion of Audubon Societies, to ensure the protection of these colonies against 
plume-hunters. Owing to their situation, the problem of safeguarding the two 
little islands should not be a difficult one; and there seems to be good reason 
to hope that the Snowy Heron will succeed in reéstablishing itself along the 
coast. 


GRAY KINGBIRD 
Photographed on Ragged Island, Bahamas, April, 1907, 
by George Shiras, 3d 


A Little Blue Heron Rookery 


By M. HARRY MOORE 


BOUT nine miles northeast of DeFuniak Springs, Florida, is a beautiful 
A body of water called Lake Cassidy. It is fringed by magnificent cyp- 

ress trees draped in long ‘“moss,’’—a border necessarily narrow on 
account of the abrupt sloping of the banks upward to the surrounding forest 
of the stately long-leaved pines. A small portion .of the northern part of this 
lake is being filled up by nature and is now in the intermediate stage between 
lake and swamp. Many shrubs grow here in the shallow water, as well as an 
abundance of white and yellow pond-lilies, and other water plants. In the shal- 
lower places among the bushes, sphagnum has transformed it into a bog. It 
is in this marshy part that the Little Blue Herons nest during the warm days 
of spring and summer. Having visited the place three years before, and knowing 
that it was a favorite place for these Herons, we decided to visit the lake again 
and make a fuller study of their early nesting habits, for it was late in July 
when I was at the rookery before. 

On May 1, 1908, we started and reached the lake a short time before sunset. 
We saw several little Green Herons and a few Little Blues flying about. How- 
ever, it was too late to go to the rookery, for it was nearly a mile distant from the 
landing. We concluded to wait and take an early start next morning. So, we 
built a camp-fire, and disregarding the “redbugs,” or “chiggers,’’ we lay down 
to sleep on the ground near the fire. As day was dawning over the lake we were 
making ready, and by the time it was light we were on our way in a small boat. 
We had not gone far when we observed a large flock of ducks near the center 
of the lake, but they took flight before we got near enough to identify them. 
After our effort to get near the ducks, we once more started for the rookery. 
A little farther on the way, our attention was attracted by a large alligator float- 
ing ahead, but it sank out of sight as we approached. 

As we got near the rookery, we could see the Herons flying in every direc- 
tion,—some flying in toward their nests and others leaving for their feeding- 
grounds. Seeing that it was almost impossible to reach the rookery by boat, 
we landed and walked around to the point of the shore nearest it. From here 
we decided to wade to the rookery which was about one hundred yards distant. 
This was not easy, for the water was about three and one-half feet deep, and 
the bottom was not firm, and all the time we were half expecting to see an alli- 
gator rise to the surface. We reached the rookery in safety, however, and found 
what more than repaid us for our trouble. 

Here, in a dense thicket of shrubs of the Heath Family (Lewcothoe race- 
mosa), less than a half-acre in extent, we found two or three hundred nests of 
the Little Blue Heron. The bushes were standing in water about two feet deep, 
and the nests were in the bushes about three or four feet above the water. The 
nests were built of twigs, being little more than mere platforms of sticks. They 


(163) 


164 Bird - Lore 


were very close together, being only a few feet apart. In the nests were found 
both eggs and young. The eggs were blue, and four was the prevailing number 
in each nest. A very few sets of five were noticed. May 2 seemed to be the very 
height of the hatching period. Probably a third of the eggs were hatched, and 
none of the young were more than a few days old on this date. The young have 


considerable white down on them when hatched. After examining the rookery 
to our satisfaction, we made a few kodak pictures of the nests and their contents. 
During our little stay, the young kept up an almost continuous noise which 
reminded one of the squawks of the old birds, although not nearly so loud. On 
our approach the parent birds had taken flight and had retreated to the cypress 
trees in the edge of the lake. A few, however, kept flying over the rookery utter- 
ing their alarm notes. A few white (immature) Herons were among the adults, 
and a few that were changing from the immature plumage to that of the adult. 


A Little Blue Heron Rookery 165 


Almost as soon as we left the place, the old birds returned and settled down 
as though nothing had occurred. 

On May 9 we again visited the rookery and found nearly all of the eggs 
hatched, and many of the young large enough to climb up the bushes, and this 
they do by the use of their bills as well as their feet. Another visit on May 15 
found many of the young birds sitting up on top of the bushes.. 

In the vicinity surrounding the rookery, is an excellent place for marsh- 
loving birds, and among its tenants were Red-winged Blackbirds, Least Bit- 
terns, Purple Gallinules, Florida Gallinules, and a pair of Wood Ducks. Two 
or three species of Swallows were flying about. A Cormorant and several Anhin- 
gas flew over that part of the lake while we were there. We found several nests 
of the Red-winged Blackbird, some containing eggs and some young. A Least 
Bittern’s nest was also found in the bushes, and a nest of the Southern Parula 
Warbler in the long ‘moss’ (T7llandsia) on a cypress tree. 

The Herons approach their nests by flying as much as possible over water. 
They come in flying rapidly, and alight near their nests,—then with a few 
peculiar squawks they approach the nest and feed their young, and then fly 
away in search of food again. After a great deal of watching, we failed to see 
the adult Herons feeding in the lake. This, we thought, was strange because 
to us the immediate vicinity seemed to afford good feeding grounds. We heard 
lots of frogs, and saw bream, or sunfish, swimming in the shallower parts of 
the lake. 

The young Herons have one habit in common with the vultures,—although 
not so well developed,—and that is, when handled or disturbed too much they 
sometimes eject the contents of their stomachs. On account of this habit, we 
learned that their food consisted of frogs, fish, and crayfish. 

There are two birds which cause the Herons a great deal of annoyance. 
One is the Kingbird which will pursue a Heron every time one comes close 
to his perch, and he gives him quite a chase, the Heron squawking and doing 
his best to get away. Another tormenter is the Red-winged Blackbird which 
will angrily chase a Heron if it gets near his nest, and this the Herons can hardly 
avoid doing in going from and coming to the rookery. 

These Herons are not nearly so plentiful at this place as they were three 
years ago. Either some have changed their nesting places, or they are decreasing 
in numbers,—probably the latter. . 


The Migration of Flycatchers 
FIFTH PAPER 


Compiled by Professar W. W. Cooke, Chiefly from Data 
in the Biological Survey 


With Drawings by Louis AcGassiz FuERTEsS and Bruce HoRSFALL 
KINGBIRD 


The Kingbird winters south of the United States and comes north in the 
spring across the Gulf of Mexico, in a path much less than a thousand miles 
wide, whence it ranges northeast, north and northwest, until it reaches the north- 
ern limit of the breeding range, which extends for nearly three thousand miles 
in width from Newfoundland to British Columbia. 


SPRING MIGRATION 


Number ae Gl 
PLACE of years | evga te a 
Atlantic Coast— 
INoriierny onic ten ene II March 24 March 14, 1907 
Southeastenn | Gecorgiaesee— sean 8 ‘March 29 March 27, 1906 
Southern South) Carolinas... 25. 12 April 5 March 28, 1878 
Rvalleiie ln HIN Giles oe el eree Wer yd mere ted 17 April 18 April 13, 1900 
AsinewMlle, IN, C. (WEB) oeasssscce se 4 April 24 April 22, 1891 
Wersiciny Iblis, Wana o so sescos seas nd 20 April 25 April £7, 1888 
Newer Marietta Vicia Warstsmtsien seeectel 13 April 25 April 18, 1896 
White Sulphur Springs, W. Va..... 8 April 24 April 18, 1896 
lmmernela (Ciesele, WY. Wei, coescccoe'se 5 April 24 April 19, 1891 
Waslamgiom, ID, (C, ccosdeseccso sk 23 April 29 April 18, 1896 
Renovo, Pancreat mee ose eee I2 May 2 April 26, 1903 
Caldwellk: Newent Io May 5 April 28, 1885 
Southeastern New York..........- 13 May 5 April 29, 1891 
Aldred: IN Va ee, oh. apie eee yee ee 07) May 9 May 2, 1887 
Isaillisitor ‘Syoeles ING Mochsacodscesone 12 May 8 May 1, 1890 
Jenene (Chi, (Comm, Gesasocscccos- 09) May 3 April 26, 1895 
Portland iConnteeeee oon eae eee 7 May 5 May 2, 1894 
lelenanioncl(COminssadsauneacedcus as IO May 7 May 3, 1906 
lelevGllyans, (COW. sccanassoue ssecuc I4 May 7 April 26, 1896 
Providence: gists ae ores 8 May 8 May 3, 1905 
Eastern Massachusetts....-...---- 18 May 5 April 30, 1896 
IRAWAGKOI OIE Wives oodeesce soos aogs 7 May 10 May 5, 1890 
Sis JOlingloumnar, Widacsenosscoducese 12 May Io May 5, 1894 
Milton deyINiacblhs Ay.cce ees a eee me 7 May 8 May 4, 1904 
Hlanovier, (Nia ts-c- some eee 7 May 9 May 3, 1889 
Southwestern Maine.....--..-...-- 25 May 9 May 3, 1904 
Sherbrooke Oller seers oe oaeeee 4 May 17 May 15, 1904 
Scotch WalkiexiNev Ber se eee 7 May 17 May 13, 1902 
Chatham NeBi cee eee soe II May 21 May 12, 1907 
Pictou Ne So -eee ie ee ee 6 May 22 May 16, 1894 
Prince Edward Island 222532552. 2- II May 23 May 19, 1894 
GodboptsOue S236. eae eee ee May 27, 1891 
Mississippi Valley— 

Southern Wowisianass ee eee eee 9 March 25 March 19, 1894 
Southern Mississippi..........-..- II March 29 March 24, 1890 


(166) 


The Migration of Flycatchers 


SPRING MIGRATION, continued 


167 


PLACE 


Number 
of years’ 
record 


Mississippi Valley— 
SEWees EN a Se sckse see 
Bulbank, Keyes s <isfee ge ose ees a 
Selous Wore ose e cece 


Oberlin Olio wresa- «ances oe 
ReterspunooeMiiCh@- = 2. eee. oe 
Southwestern Ontario....... 
Oftanvarn@nitesscenset es oe a 
IC Ok Mikey LO Walsc .eic=<tetn sce ct 
Central Towa s.. ><. Sess sacs = 
Chicago sll ese settee 
Southern Wisconsin......... 
anesboro, Manne. 3... -o- =. 
Kernvilless@exasc .scccen-ee 


Onaoas ans io .f2< 552 6s 
Sy uaGuse. wNiebiay seer 2 = 
IRevo Gl (Cine ts IGS Sees See = 
Wanimore, IN}. BD); 225 eec=e = 
Aweme, Manitoba be sr eae 
Reaburn, Manitoba......... 
Indian Head, Saskatchewan 
Osler, Saskatchewan........ 
Southeastern Colorado....-. 
Denver Colo. (Mear)-.-.--- - 


Ghepenne WYOns<\5<s/ienees ow ne 


sieinve es Miont iy aes = sas S 
Columbia Falls, Mont....... 
Rathdrums idaho =.22-2-.-. 
Edmonton, Alberta (near)... 
Southern British Columbia . 
Fort Simpson, Mack.......- 


BANNAN WATW 


FALL MIGRATION 


Average date of 


spring arrival 


April 19 
April 19 
April 19 
April 19 
April 25 
April 29 
April 27 
April 27 
April 30 
May 3 

May 9 

April 25 
April 26 
May 1 

May 2 

May 7 

April 26 
April 17 
April 24 
April 25 
April 26 
May 9 
May 17 
May 15 
May 16 
May 18 


May 6 
May 11 
May 11 
May 16 
May 21 
May 27 
May 24 
May 24 


Earliest date of 
spring arrival 


April 
April 
April 
April 
April 
April 
April 
April 
April 
April 


1899 
1889 


1888 
1896 
1889 
1896 
1889 
1902 
1885 
, 1905 


May 3, 1896 


April 
April 
April 
April 
April 
April 
April 
April 
April 
April 
May 
May 
May 
May 
May 
May 
May 
May 
May 
May 
May 
May 
May 
May 


June 


23; 
DX. 
24, 
20, 
24, 
22° 
IO, 
2I, 


IQ, 


17, 
3) 
7) 
9, 

its) 

15; 

20, 

at, 

16, 


1903 
1897 
1897 
1896 
1891 
Igo2 
1885 
1891 
18g1 
Igoo 
1906 


, 1904 
, 1904 
, 1900 


1906 
1893 
1905 
1889 
1889 
1905 
1896 
Igoo 
1903 
1g06 


I, 1904 


PLACE 


Southern British Columbia ... 
Columbia Falls, Mont......... 
Awemes Manitoba-.... 3. 42-/s< 
Ottanaie Ones ose hee 
Southwestern Ontario......... 
OberlineTOhiosse 5 Sco ssc 4 ice 
Wauseon Ohio 2252.55 Sac cee 
Chicat on lla setae cc e etek 
Centralllowarrsn nto occ e tse 
OnagareKanssaae eos aces oe 
Poniham welhexaS aes 82,02. cc0s oe 
1eiikoscl. INSEE Se © eee eee wee 


of years’ 
record 


Hw 


HW Du~3I~I O OC Ww 


Ln 


Number 


Average date of 


last one seen 


_ September 


| September 
| August 26 
| September 


September 


September 1 


| September 


September 
September 


6 


SI OANHAO 


Latest date of the 
last one seen 


September 
September 11, 1895 
September 17, 1907 
August 29, 1897 

September 
September 17, 1906 
September 28, 1894 
September 25, 1895 
September 30, 1888 
September II, 1905 
October 17, 1885 

October 20, 1905 


8, 1889 


g, 1891 


168 Bird - Lore 


FALL MIGRATION, continued 


| Number nee 

PLACE cryeant | See ater |S 
Southern “houlsianass: 22 See ps : 4 October 3 October 23, 1903 
Prince Edward Island. 222225933222 ) 7 August 31 September 4, 1899 
Scotch; ake: wNi Bie eo oe ae eee ce 3 September 6 September 16, 1g0r 
Southwestern) Maine 2] ase T4 September 5 | September 12, 1900 
ID apham tN: JE ete eee ee 3 September 7 September 11, 1900 
Providence, Reis 622i Ae ae ape tere 7 September 4 September 12, 1899 
Renovoe Bari. as: 2 ecg ae ea 6 September 6 | September 15, 1901 
Berwynatba:. 22 2. one Aa soa eee 4 September 5 | September 10, 1904 
= Washington: Di) Cg nee ae eee ees 5 August 20 | September 23, 1905 
French! Creeks We. Viae cscs aes 3 August 27 | September 20, 1890 
Raleigh Np Clee ees 2b nee ne 5 September 1 September 18, 1893 
RrOsMOre .5 MC = ke ye ee ee September 19, 1886 
‘Palla hassees ‘latent 2) eee Se ane September Ir, 1904 


South of the United States the arrival of the first Kingbird has been noted 
in southern Mexico September 3, in southeastern Nicaragua September 8, 
and in northern Colombia September 19. 


WOOD PEWEE 


SPRING MIGRATION 


Number | 


? Vi gz ay 
PLACE cee | Mae Gee | 
Atlantic Coast— | 
Wihitteld: slaio a= a2 ee ee eee April 4, 1903 
Coosadat Alas ten ek pee April 9 
Southeastern \Georeides nse 2) se ee 3 April 15 | April 14, 1905 
Southern South Carolina.....--.-. 3 April 15 April 14, 1889 
Raleigh: wNe Claes ieee, as eee 13 April 23 April 21, 1888 
‘Asheville; ING. (néan).: ==> -- == 6 April 29 April 27, 1902 
Variety. Mills. Vides: so: yt see apete 18 May 3 April 23, 1889 
Prench: ‘(Creekes We. Viaews =. oe eee 5 May 4 April 25, 1889 - 
-Washingtons iD: iC. S653 ss 21 May 5 | April 29, Igoo 
Waynesburg, Pa-c22 25 552 eee 4 May 5 | May 2, 1892 
Beavers; Pag. fesse <<. ete ae ae May 8 | May 6, 1902 
Renovonrb are a). > au tee eee See II May 9 | May 3, 1899 
Germantown: (Pa... 2- 24h oe 4 May 14 May 12, 1889 
Enelewood) NG j.\:.> >.) esi ege ee 12 May 17 | May 10, 1900 
Southeastern New York.2) 22-2 .i5-— sme) May 16 | May ro, 1890 
Balistonsspa4. Ny Vb ee Ceres hit May 18 | May 15, 1900 
Hartford Conn 230. Bee es os 14 May 18 May 14, 1899 
Hadlymes Coun, 2222.2 .0 eee as 8 May 19 May 11, 1900 
Providence; Rive 23.22 sso es ie) May 21 May 16, 1899 
Eastern Massachusetts....-..--.-- 20 May 18 May 12, 1899 
‘Randolph Virwee oes ee 8 May 24 May 19, 1896 
Southwestern Maine........-.-.-- I2 May 22 May 14, 1903 
Montreal,/Canada.. 2-25-2227 224 = 5-2 6 May 23 May 18, 1889 
Scotch- Lake Became ae 5 May 27 May 23, 1902 
Prince Edward Island —) 325-22 May 26, 1887 


_— Washington, D. C. 


The Migration of Flycatchers 


SPRING MIGRATION, continued 


169 


Number : 
PLACE atigeanaty| rears fou oh) < Saist ete 
Mississippi Valley— 

ace (outs, wNbisss; Siete el March 25, 1906 
Southern Lotisiana.0<. .oSlc. fe et 9 April 10 March 27, 1897 
San Antonio, Texas (near) ........ 9 April 20 April 9g, 1890 
Bvurtinern. Texas 2 <0". Set. 2 7 April 26 April 18, 1885 
(SLE. “SETIC 009 pauline 13 April 22 April 12, 1897 
<A TENSES ST AV: RRA a 6 April 25 April 23, 1902 
LEST 6 pee aaa a 10 April 28 April 26, 1892 
SSIES A! IG a rh re 6 April 29 April 28, 1885 
Heavier PMC xe.ct c. 3-2 oe Ss Se ws 6 May 7 May 4, 1892 
Waterloo, Ind, (néar)i.c.2sc...<.-- 8 May 8 May 5, 1905 
Perr eOniOs. fos ks ke. Io May 6 May 2, 1905 
Payrmomth, Miche. =. 1< Sc sie- ks 6 May to May 6, 1896 
Evers Dungy Mach: “222.62 a. sired IO May to May 6, 1887 
southwestern Ontario....2:....+:. a5 May 14 May 8, 1884 
GIST SIR 2 10 May 9 May 4, 1902 
cuine awey 2c 2522 PY 20 May Io May 3, 1905 
iC Goer 4 ane a le ae 15 May 12 May 5, 1885 
magcepero, Manno.) <<. 202 nc 5 J: 6 May 15 May to, 1887 
Dibetecdn, Mena: es oes oo ic Se le a 15 May 19 May 4g, 1902 


FALL MIGRATION 


PLACE 


A WeMewmivianitobae «seers aes a anne 
canes bouore Vann. = sas 9. ono eee 
Central Iowa 
ASN Pei Dil yards soe ek na clues ieee Oe 
Southwestern) Ontario. 2... 52 142 oo. 
©benlmrsO lion ees 25 os ee 
Wauseon, Ohio 
Watenloosimdsecempeete. 2 oe a 
bane Ryn eee, os. Sob ctho cos csc 
AACHEN Senne eet Pie, fore ad Oho 
Southern) Wouisiamas yes oe ese a 
Prince Edward Island 
Scotehwlualkess Niu ils saaeen ewes 9 Oe 
Montreal w@anada o.oo ee a a 
Southwestern Maine..........-...... 
INET OVO tte ss. See eeeenee Si 
EM@lewaGeyniN... feria kt jot ccic weeehaee, 


Prenemy Creek ow. Vane ce sone ees 
Raleigivenit Cres. < 3G eo ee 
Puntaeassasbilaeers 24... angen 


Number 
of years’ 
record 


lanl 


“TEOrsT OO NS COON 


HAop Ww 


NIQO 


Average date of 
last one seen 


Latest date of the 
last one seen 


September 14 
September 19 
September 21 
September 20 
September 19 
September 26 
September 24 
October 9 

October 17 

October 24 


August 25 

September 6 
September 15 
September 22 


October 4 
October 9 
October 9 


August 30, 1901 
September 23, 1888 
September 28, 1898 
October 3, 1885 
September 27, 1905 


September 27, 1899 
October 4, 18go 
October 1, 1889 


October 15, 1888 
October 22, 1902 
November 2, 1900 
August 25, 1889 
September 13, 1906 
September 11, 1887 
September 27, 1898 
September 29, 1902 
September 28, 1885 
October 12, 1906 ~— 
October 13, 1891 
October 13, 1891 
November 23, 1885 


The Wood Pewee begins its southward migration so early that it was seen 
in southeastern Nicaragua August 21, 1892, and arrived August 21, 1889 at 


San Jose, Costa Rica. 


170 Bird - Lore 


WESTERN WOOD PEWEE 


SPRING MIGRATION 


Number - : 
PLACE see ey 
Sowlelneria Calltiorinies..ceccscscdescaes 5 April 19 April 15, 1907 
SOwNerin AVON soaceascodccecaeese April 27, 1885 
Southern British Columbia .......-. Aine May 17 May o9, 1889 
Beulah) Coloks cs stye a se ee ee 4 May 17 May 15, 1906 
Columibia) Palsy Mont): 5255-4522. 5 May 27 May 20, 1897 
ANWEUNS, IMIBIMMIOOs.5652sscoce4s ees Fy May 27 May 22, 1904 
RedeDeew, Albertaseee eee se eee May 22, 1892 
SIME ANS 55 adoncanccenscscs May 3, 1899 
evs FALL MIGRATION 


Some dates of the last seen are: Aweme, Man., September 13, 1902; Colum- 
bia Falls, Mont., September 9, 1895; Beulah, Colo., September 5, 1903; 
Southern California, September 30, 1894. 


FEMALE' NIGHTHAWK 
Photographed by Warren C. Tudbury, May 26, 1906, at Golden’s Bridge, N. Y 


Hotes from Field and Stuny 


Observations on a Tame Loon 


A Loon, or Great Northern Diver, was 
received at the New York Aquarium in 
September, 1907, where it was kept in 
one of the large salt-water pools for about 
a month, when it was sent to the Zoé- 
logical Park. It came from the United 
States Fisheries Station at Woods Hole, 
Mass., where it had been kept all summer 
in a large salt water basin adjoining the 
wharf piers. 

The Aquarium pool, which is twenty- 
eight feet long and three feet deep, con- 
tained at the same time a collection of 
dogfish (Squalus), skates and sculpins. 
Although the Loon was supplied with an 
abundance of live killifishes, its activity 
led it to strike frequently at the large 
fishes, and it succeeded in swallowing one 
of the sculpins with a head larger than its 
own. The other sculpins were too large to 
be swallowed. 

Although supplied with a dry platform 
on which to rest, it never left the water 
of its own accord. Its breast plumage 
showing a tendency to become water 
logged, the attendants removed it each 
evening to a box of dry excelsior, where it 
spent the night. It never sat up in any 
way, either on the platform or in the box, 
always resting on its breast except when 
it rolled upon its side for the purpose of 
preening its under plumage. When in the 
water the bird frequently turned almost 
on its back when dressing its breast feath- 
ers. Rolling over on one side, with one 
foot still submerged, it swam slowly in a 
circle during the process, the other foot 
being held entirely clear of the water. 

In exploring the bottom of the pool, or 
in pursuit of killifishes, it swam under 
water with the wings closely folded—never 
in use, and it spent much time swimming 
on the surface with the eyes submerged, 
watching the large fishes below. The Loon 
frequently shook the water from its feath- 
ers by rising to avertical position, as Ducks 


do, and flapping the wings, while its feet 
beat a lively tattoo in maintaining the 
position. 

Although apparently full grown, the 
characteristic black neck-ring had not 
yet appeared. 

Its only note was a low murmur when 
the attendants approached. The bird 
never made any attempt to fly and was 
quite tame, not attempting to bite when 
handled. 

In referring to the bird’s ability to sit 
erect or stand on its feet, Audubon writes 
of a Loon wounded by his son, that “‘it 
immediately rose erect on its feet and, in- 
clining its body slightly forward, ran or 
stumbled, rose again and getting along 
in this manner, actually reached the water 
before my son.”’ He says that the female, 
frightened from her nest, ‘‘makes at once 
for the water in a scrambling and sliding 
manner, pushing herself along the ground.”’ 

Audubon’s remark on the female Loon 
corresponds with my own observation 
on the wild bird leaving its nest. 

Montagu says of Loons, “in swim- 
ming and diving only the legs are used 
and not the wings.’”’ While Audubon 
writes: “having myself seen Loons pass 
and repass under boats and pro- 
pel themselves both with their feet and 
their half-expanded wings, I am inclined 
to believe that when not wounded and 
when pursuing their prey they usually 
employ all the Jimbs.”—C. H. Town- 
SEND, New York City. 


' When Doctors Disagree 


Ornithologia Faceta 


About May 12, 1908, I had the good 
fortune to secure three specimens of a 
bird whose identity was unknown to me, 
These specimens were taken on lower 
Broadway, New York City, a locality 
peculiarly rich in puzzling forms. To 
establish the position of the species in our 
avi-fauna, and to place the specimens 


(171) 


172 


where they would be most available to 
science, I sent one to each of the three 
leading museums of the country, at the 
same time requesting information from 
three of our leading ornithological experts, 
located at the respective institutions to 
which the specimens were sent. 

It may be of interest to here state that 
the birds were at this time active and in 
full song, the latter having a marked indi- 
viduality. 

I quote replies in the order in which they 
were received: ‘‘The specimen presented 
by you to the Museum arrived safely and 
we are greatly indebted for same. As it is 
undoubtedly a new species and genus, I 
have named it Bowdishia americana. The 
specific name being on account of the 
striking red, white and blue coloration of 
its wings. If you do not think the speci- 
men will fade, we will be glad to put it on 
exhibition provided you will present us 
with a suitable case.”’ 

“After serious consideration I do not 
think that I care to hazard an identifi- 


Bird- Lore 


cation of your bird We have the song, it is 
true, but species of this group are so in- 
volved that sexual and seasonal plumages 
are absolutely necessary for correct deter- 
mination. It is obviously one of the 
Christmas volans group, probably of the 
genus Fakir ijerus, but further than this 
I cannot go.” 

“The bird you send for identification 
proves to be an Umslophagus Angelicus, 
in very fresh plumage. It is a very rare 
bird in these parts, and appears only at 
distant intervals. 

‘“Some birds, as you know, portend 
rainy spells, or hard winters, or even fam- 
ines, but not so with the Umslophagus. 
He is a sure sign of extraordinary upheay- 
als in the American Ornithologist’s 
Union Check-list, with a special leaning 
toward ripping the nomenclature of the 
Owls and Sparrows wide open. I judge 
from the date of the arrival of the Umslo- 
phagus; that the upheaval will occur in 
the month of July.” 

In view of the variance of opinion indi- 


Notes from Field and Study 


cated by the foregoing letters, I leave it 
to the learned reader to decide for himself 
the position which the discovery should 
occupy in our avi-fauna, also what its ad- 
vent may portend to American ornitho- 
logy.—B. S. Bowpisu, New York. 


A Pair of Blue-gray Gnatcatchers That 
Moved Their Nest 


r 
‘ 


On April 5, 1908, I found a pair of 
Blue-gray Gnat-catchers building their 
They had begun it upon a dead 
branch of a mulberry tree about twelve 
feet from the ground. Both and 
female worked at the nest, always giving 


nest. 
male 


a sharp note while at work. In gathering 
lichens from the trees, the little bird would 
catch a piece with its bill and then flap 
its wings and pull until the lichen came 
off. The work on the nest continued for 
ten days, at the end of which time there 
seemed to be a lull, and the nest was 
apparently abandoned. 

Two days later I heard them at the nest 
again, and noticed that they seemed to be 
tearing it to pieces. I found that they were 
moving it to a nearby thicket—a distance 
of about fifty yards. By watching them, 
I soon discovered that they were rebuild- 
ing the nest in a small oak, only about 
three and one-half feet from the ground. 
Here they completed it and covered it 
with lichens, so that it was almost impos- 
sible to be noticed. The female began 
laying eggs, but after she had laid three, 
something began to take the eggs one by 
one. Although she continued to lay an 
egg each day for four days, she at last 
became discouraged, and the pair quit the 
neighborhood.—ANGus McKINNon, De- 
Funiak Springs, Florida. 


A Humming Bird’s Toilet 


On May 30, 1908, I was walking up 


Eagle Rock Canon, just north of this city,, 


collecting botanical specimens. I had 
stopped near a small pool in the little 
rivulet and, while standing there, a Hum- 
mingbird darted down to the water. 
Her movement was so swift that I could 


173. 


not tell whether she entered the water or 
not, but she flew up and perched on a 
small .twig, not more than six feet from 
my face, and herself. 
First, with her bill, she would arrange 
her back and tail feathers, and then, 


standing on one foot, she would arrange 


began preening 


the feathers of her neck and head, con- 
tinuing clear down to the tip of her bill. 
Then with the other foot she would do 
the other side. This continued some two. 
or three minutes, when the male flew up 
and they darted away together. I was so 
very close that I could distinctly see the 
whole interesting performance.—GeEo. L. 
Moxtey, Los Angeles, Cal. 


Bird Notes From Chicago 


Carpinat.—A pair of Cardinals in 
Sheridan Park built a nest in the latter 
part of May, but the young were killed 
by our noted lake breeze soon after they 
hatched. Last year, Cardinals were very 
common in this vicinity. There was one 
pair in Sheridan Park and one in Argyle 
Park. On one day I also saw two more 
pairs at the Desplaines River, west of 
Dunning, while I think there were five 
or six at Riverside. There are still three 
or four at Riverside, owing to the pro- 
tection given them, but the others, I fear, 
have been killed by boys and gunners. 

Turrep TirmousE.—On February 8 
I saw five Tufted Titmice at Riverside. 
They were quite tame and we watched 
them for some time. On April 11, I again 
saw three at the same place, the last record 
of them that I know of. They were seen 
between these two dates several times by 
other members of the E. W. Nelson 
Society. 

Rospin.—Frank C. Gates and William 
Gerberding, individually, saw a Robin in 
Graceland Cemetery on January 1, and I 
saw two at the same time on January 20. 

Sonc SpaArRow.—On January 18, Dr. 
H. S. Pepoon and I saw three Song Spar- 
rows near Bowmanville. Song Sparrows. 
never wintered with us before, to our 
knowledge. 

PRAIRIE Heren.—April 12, Dr. H. S. 


174 


Pepoon and I saw a flock of about twenty 
within a mile of the city limits, where, I 
dare not say, for fear some gunner will 
get word of it. They seemed to be in a 
wild state, but they may have been intro- 
duced, for all I know. 

CHICKADEES.—Chickadees have been 
remarkably scarce here this year. Glen- 
coe, Millers (Ind.), Willow Springs and 
Half Day have been the only places I 
have found them.—NEwton L. Par- 
TRIDGE, Chicago, Ill. 


A FLICKER’S NEST SITE 


A Flicker’s Home 


“Shooting on these premises is strictly 
prohibited under penalty of the law.” 
A wise Demarest (N. J.) Flicker has 
selected a home which is at this date (June 
8)’ occupied, and which bears the above 


Bird - Lore 


legend in lieu of a name-plate on the door. 
Such seeming sagacity should be rewarded 
by success in the rearing of a large and 
happy family.—B. S. BowpisH, Demar- 
28, IN Se 


Two Sparrow Episodes 


A friend in this town, who is a close 
observer of birds and is thoroughly re- 
liable, has just told me the following 
incidents. A Robin was gathering angle- 
worms in the lawn, and had filled her bill 
with a fine bunch of them for her little 
ones in the nest near at hand. Several 
English Sparrows were hopping about 
close to her, evidently intent on trickery. 
As the Robin lifted her head and was 
getting ready to fly, one Sparrow at her 
right, and another in front, were chirping 
and threatening in a way to divert her 
attention; then, just at the right moment, 
a third Sparrow darted up to her from the 
right side and a little in the rear and 
nabbed the bunch of worms, pulling them 
all from her beak. Poor Madam Robin 
stood looking puzzled, as if she scarcely 
knew what had happened. 

My informant also says that the Purple 
Martins, as a rule, seem to be quiet and 
peaceably inclined just as long as the 
English Sparrows keep their distance. 
But more than once he has seen one of 
the Martins turn like a flash on a Sparrow 
that was getting too bold and coming too 
near, seize it by the feathers of the nape, 
give it a twist and a snap, and send it 
whirling to the ground. This will help to 
explain how the Martins manage to hold 
their own against the Sparrow clans.— 
LEANDER S. KEYSER, Canal Dover, Ohio. 


A Correction 


The notice of a Prothonotary Warbler 
in Central Park, in the June number of 
BrirD-LORE gave, by my mistake, the 
date of identification as May 8, instead 
of May 4. The bird was not seen after 
May 5.—ANNE A. Crotius, New York 
City. 


Book Mews and Reviews 


PRELIMINARY REPORT OF AN INVESTIGA- 
TION ON THE SEASONAL CHANGES OF 
Cotor IN Brirps. By C. WILLIAM 
BEEBE, American Naturalist, XLII, 


1908, pp. 34-38. 

In continuing his important and novel 
studies of the causes affecting the colors 
of birds, Mr. Beebe gave himself this inter- 
esting problem, ‘‘What is the cause of, 
or what factors determine, the seasonal 
change in the males of the Scarlet Tana- 
ger and the Bobolink?” 

To give Mr. Beebe’s answer would be 
to reprint his paper, which, as a prelimi- 
nary report, is largely an abstract of his 
experiments. Briefly, male Scarlet Tana- 
gers and male Bobolinks in full plumage 
and in full song were confined in cages 
where the supply of light was gradually 
diminished and the amount of food gradu- 
ally increased. The birds began at once 
to gain in weight, and to lose in activity, 
and shortly to discontinue singing, and 
when the time for the fall molt arrived 
not a feather was shed. 

“From time to time a bird was gradu- 
ally brought into the light for a week or 
two and meal-worms were added to its 
diet. This invariably resulted in a full 
resumption of song. Even in the middle of 
winter a Tanager or a Bobolink would 
make the room ring with its spring notes, 
and with this‘phenomenon was correlated 
a slight decrease in weight.” 

Early the following spring Tanagers 
and Bobolinks which were gradually 
brought under normal conditions molted 
as wild birds of the same species do, into 
spring breeding plumage. Wild Scarlet 
Tanagers, however, change at this season 
from olive to scarlet, and male Bobolinks 
exchange a plumage resembling that of 
the female to the familiar black, white 
and buff. With Mr. Beebe’s birds, how- 
ever, the fall molt having been sup- 
pressed, the change in the Tanager was 
from scarlet and black to scarlet and black, 
and in the Bobolink from black, white 
and buff to black, white and buff. 


Mr. Beebe’s experiments are still in 
progress and for the present he attempts 
to make no attempt to explain the signifi- 
cance of the results already achieved.— 
FE Me C. 


DESTRUCTION OF THE COTTON BOLL-WEE- 
VIL BY BIRDS IN WINTER. By ARTHUR 
H. Howey. Circular No. 64, Bureau 
of Biological Survey, United States De- 
partment of Agriculture. 

Mr Howell’s investigations have raised 
the number of species of birds known to 
feed on the cotton-boll weevil from twenty 
to fifty-three. Of these, thirty species prey 
upon the weevil during the winter, when, 
Mr. Howell remarks, it is far more impor- 
tant to kill them than in summer, since 
their death at this season “prevents the 
production of a very numerous progeny 
during the earlysummer. Brewer’s,,Rusty 
and Red-winged Blackbirds, Meadowlarks, 
Savanna, Vesper, Field, Swamp, White- 
throated and Fox Sparrows, American Pip- 
its, Carolina, Bewick and Winter Wrens, 
Tufted Titmice and Carolina Chickadees 
are among the more important winter-bird 
enemies of the weevil.—F. M. C. 


CASSINIA: PROCEEDS DELAWARE VALLEY 
ORNITHOLOGIST’S CLUB, XI, 1907, 8vo. 
98 pages, 4 half-tones. 

‘Cassinia’ for 1907 opens with one of 
Witmer Stone’s admirable biographical 
sketches of America’s early ornithologists, 
the subject being Adolphus L. Heermann, 
whom we know chiefly through the two 
birds which were named for him—Heer- 
mann’s Song Sparrow and Heermann’s 
Gull. Mr. Stone’s remark that the prac- 
tice of naming animals and plants after 
collectors and students is justified by the 
perpetuation of the memory of men who 
might otherwise be forgotten, meets with 
our hearty approval. It is the naming of 
species after men who are not even re- 
motely connected with or interested in 
scientific pursuits that has brought this 
practice into disrepute. 


(175) 


176 


Other, papers in this number relate 
more directly to the region to which the 
club devotes its special attention; Cornel- 
ius Weygandt writing of ‘Some Birds of 
Brown’s Mills, N. J., Spencer Trotter on 
“Type Birds of Eastern Pennsylvania and 
New Jersey,’ Charles J. Pennock on 
‘Bird-life of the Indian River Country of 
Delaware,’ and Chreswell J. Hunt, pre- 
sents ‘A Pensauken Diary.’ 

Members of the club at forty-three dif- 
ferent localities contribute data on the 
spring migration of 1907, which are com- 
piled by Mr. Stone in the usual valuable 
annual report of this subject. 

The abstract of the proceedings at Club 
meetings shows that from January 3, to 
December 19, 1907, sixteen meetings were 
held with an average attendance of 
twenty-three members; the number rang- 
ing from fifteen to thirty-five. Judged by 
this record the D. V. O. C. continues to 
be the most active local ornithological 
society in this country.—F. M. C. 


List OF THE BIRDS OF THE NEW HAVEN 
REGION. Compiled by a Committee of 
Freeman F. Burr, Chairman, Philip L. 
Buttrick, Alfred’) W. Honywill, Jr., 
Dwight B. Pangburn, Aretas A. Saund- 
ers, Clifford H. Pangburn. Advisory 
Committee, Louis B. Bishop. Bulletin 
No. 1 New Haven Bird Club, May, 
1908. 8vo. 32 pages. 


This list is a good example of the results 
of codperative bird study. Various mem- 
bers of the committee describe the more 
favorable places for birds and bird stu- 
dents about New Haven and then give 
us a briefly annotated list of 217 species of 
birds ‘“‘that can be seen during any year 
in the immediate vicinity of New Haven.”’ 
This list is based mainly on the observa- 
tions of the members of the committee, 
and being designed to represent the pres- 
ent status of the species treated, should 
be of practical value to bird students in 
the region covered. A nominal list of rare 
or extirpated species is appended. Without 
in any way reflecting on the accuracy of 
the work of the members of the committee, 
we congratulate them on their good judg- 
ment in securing the co6peration of their 


Bird - 


Lore 


fellow-townsmen as an Advisory Com- 
mittee.—F. M. C. 


A CATALOGUE OF THE BIRDS OF PRINCE 
Epwarp Istanp. By JoHN MacSwatn, 
Proc. and Trans., Nova Scotian Insti- 


tute, xl, pp. 570-592. 

This list is based mainly on the field 
work of its author from 1895 to 1907, 
during which time he has identified 203 
species of birds. 

Under the head of “Species Reported 
by Other Writers,’’. 13 species are added 
from Macoun’s ‘Catalogue of Canadian 
Birds,’ and four from Bain’s ‘Birds of 
Prince Edward Island.” While it might 
destroy the record of personal achieve- 
ment, it would add greatly to the refer- 
ence value of the list if these 17 additional 
species had been included in it. Mr. Mac- 
Swain does not appear to be familiar with 
Dwight’s ‘Summer Birds of Prince Ed- 
ward Island’ (The Auk, X, 1893, pp. 
I-15), a list of 80 species, seven of which 
are not contained in the body of his paper, 
but are included in quotations from other 
authors. 4 

It is hoped that the edition of reprints 


_of Mr. MacSwain’s paper is large enough 
fo} to) 


to supply local students with this useful 
check-list.—F. M. C. 


The Ornithological Magazines 


JOURNAL OF THE MAINE ORNITHOLOG- 
ICAL SOCIETY.—The June, 1907, number 
of this ‘Journal’ opens with a brief history of 
the society, followed by an account of the 
Redstart from O. W. Knight’s, ‘Birds of 
Maine,’ the 1906 migration report and 
numerous local notes. In the Septem- 
ber number W. H. Brownson describes 
a visit to a colony of Laughing Gulls near 
Bristol, Maine, and also reports on the 
great Common Tern colony on Bluff 
Island. The autumn migration report of 
1906 and the usual local notes complete 
the number. For December we have 
‘Observations on the Nesting and Feeding 
of the Loon,’ by Dr. W. C. Kendall, ‘The 
Wood Duck and its Danger,’ by A. H. 
Norton, ‘Scarcity of the Ruffed Grouse,’ 


Book News and Reviews 


by Walter H. Rich, and some interesting 
extracts from the journals of Mr. Geo. A. 
Boardman. 

The March, 1908, number is largely 
devoted to Christmas bird lists and the 
proceedings of the annual meeting of the 
society held at Portland, November 29-30, 
1907, marking the twelfth year of the 
existence of this flourishing organiza- 
tion, while there is also an account of a 
Bank Swallow colony, by H. H. Cleaves, 
illustrated by a plate. In the June number 
O. W. Knight discusses the Faunal Areas 
of Maine,’ P. B. Rolfe writes of ‘Fish 
Hawks Forty Years Ago,’ and W. H. 
Brownson contributes extended migra- 
tion notes from Cape Elizabeth, Maine, 
for May, 1908. There is also a portrait 
and obituary notice of Prof. Leslie A. Lee, 
late president of the society.—W. S. 

WiLson BuLLETIN.—In the September 
number of the ‘Bulletin,’ Taverner and 
and Swales continue their valuable ‘Birds 

of Point Pelee.’ F. L. Burns reprints the 
; preface to the fourth volume of Wilson’s 
Ornithology, containing his list of birds 
breeding at Bartram’s Garden in 1811, 
and compares it with his own list at Ber- 
wyn, not many miles away. Lynd Jones 
discusses the spring migration of 1907, 
and presents some additional lists of 
“Birds from a Car Window.’ A briefly 
annotated list of birds of western Lyman 
county, South Dakota, by A. Larson, com- 
pletes the number. 

For December, Lynd Jones has an 
illustrated paper on ‘June Birds of the 
Washington Coast,’ while there is a large 
installment of the Point Pelee list, and 
papers by J. H. Fleming on ‘Birds of 
Hawkins County, Tennessee’ and by 
F. L. Burns on ‘The Ruffed Grouse in 
Pennsylvania.’ 

The March, 1908, number comes to 
hand with a new cover representing Wil- 
son’s Warbler, while the main article is by 
F. L. Burns, discussing at length the so- 
called Wilson-Audubon Controversy. 

Lynd Jones continues his ‘Birds of the 
Washington Coast,’ and John F. Ferry 
presents a detailed study of the phenome- 
nal spring migration of 1907, as observed 


177 


in the vicinity of Chicago. Other papers 
are on ‘A Migration Flight of Purple 
Martins in Michigan in the Summer of 
1905,’ by Frank Smith, ‘The Acquaint- 
ance of Individual Birds,’ by W. E. Saud- 
ers, and ‘Summer Birds of Lake Geneva, 
Wis.,’ by B. H. Wilson.—W. S. 


Book News 


THE Annual Report of the Superintend- 
ent of the Yellowstone Park for 1907 con- 
tains (pages 15-23) “‘ Notes on the Summer 
Birds” of the Park, by T. S. Palmer, in 
which seventy-four species are listed, 
largely as a result of observations made 
from August 7 to 21, and September g to 
14, 1908. 


NuMBER three of Volume I of the 
ornithological publications of the Field 
Museum is a ‘Catalogue of a Collection 
of Birds from Guatemala,’ by Ned Dear- 
born. The paper is based mainly on Dr. 
Dearborn’s work in Guatemala from Janu- 
ary 4 to April 15, 1906, and contains notes 
On 305 species of birds. 


DEWOLFE & FISKE Co., of Boston, 
announce the publication in two volumes, 
the first of which is ready, of a work on 
the Birds of Guiana, by Frederick Paul 
Penard and Arthur Philip Penard. The 
work, which is written in Dutch, treats 
of about 1,000 species. 


In ‘The Century’ for June, Gerald 
H. Thayer presents an article entitled 
“The Concealing Coloration of Animals,’ 
in which we have a concise general state- 
ment of the discoveries of Abbott H. 
Thayer in regard to this subject. We 
understand that the Macmillan Company 
has in press a volume in which Mr. 
Thayer’s work is fully elaborated, but, 
while awaiting its appearance, the ‘Cen- 
tury’ article should be read as an intro- 
duction to a book which is certain to arouse 
much interest among students of animal 
life. July ro, Mr. Thayer demonstrated 
some of the results of his studies before 
the Biological Laboratory at Woods Hole. 


178 


Bird- Lore 


A Bi-monthly Magazine 
Devoted to the Study and Protection of Birds 
OFFICIAL ORGAN OF THE AUDUBON SOCIETIES 


Edited by FRANK M. CHAPMAN 
Published by THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 


Vol. X Published August 1, 1908 No. 4 


SUBSCRIPTION RATES 
Price in the United States, Canada and Mexico 
twenty cents a number, one dollar a year, post- 
age paid. ie 


COPYRIGHTED, 1908, BY FRANK M. CHAPMAN 


Bird-Lore’s Motto: 
al Bird in the Bush is Worth Two in the Hand 


WHAT an overwhelming catastrophe 
was the introduction into America of the 
House Sparrow! Its harsh, insistent, 
incessant chirp is now the dominant bird 
voice about our homes, where we may 
never again hope to hear a chorus of 
native bird music unmarred by the dis- 
cordant chatter of this pest. It is as though 
some foul odor had forever defiled the 
fragrance of our fields and woods. 


THE contents of the June issue of the 
National Geographic Magazine demon- 
strates convincingly the value of the cam- 
era to the sportsman as a substitute for 
the rifle, and its importance to the natural- 
ist as an aid in recording observations 
in tangible form. 

Virtually the entire number is given 
to an article by the Hon. George Shiras, 
3d, entitled ‘One Season’s Game-Bag with 
the Camera.’ To be exact, for ‘‘Season’s”’ 
we should substitute Year’s, since the 
work of several seasons is here included; 
but, even with this amendment, the con- 
tents of the game bag is sufficiently re- 
markable, especially when we learn that 
it represents only the best specimens of 
the hunter’s skill. Here are photographs 
of the Booby, Man-o’-War Bird, Sap- 
sucker, Florida Screech Owl, Canada Jay, 
Brown Pelican, Florida Bob-white, Cat- 
bird, and Thrasher, the moose, caribou, 
Virginia deer, timber wolf, weasel, mink, 
and gray squirrel,—all of which show the 
animal in its haunts and tell more or less 


Bird - Lore 


of its habits, while the accompanying text, 
which is far more interesting as a narra- 
tive than the simpler story of the man 
with the gun, contains also much valuable 
biographical matter. 

In New Brunswick Mr. Shiras employed 
a famous guide, who for over forty years 
had hunted with the rifle; but, after his 
experience as an assistant in camera 
hunting, he said: “In my varied experience 
and with many scenes before me, I can 
only say in all sincerity that the hunt of 
the past week has proved more interesting, 
more exciting, and of more real value in 
the study of animal life than all that has 
gone before.” Such a tribute from a 
naturalist would not be surprising, but that 
a professional hunter should so quickly 
yield to the fascination of camera hunting 
is eloquent evidence of the camera’s inher- 
ent superiority over the gun for the sports- 
man as well as the scientist. 

Mr.° Shiras’s story is illustrated by 
seventy photographs, selected from 250 
taken between April 9, 1907, and April 1, 
1908. It is perhaps needless to add that 
among them one looks in vain for a pic- 
ture of the author standing proudly 
behind a string of dead birds, or beside a 
hung deer carcass. 


A WORK now appearing in England 
comes nearer to the ideal presentation of 
a bird’s biography than any with which 
we are familiar. It is entitled ‘The 
British Warblers,’ and is by H. Eliot 
Howard (R. H. Porter, publisher, 7 
Princes street, Cavendish Square, Lon- 
don). The author has devoted years to 
the study in life of the subjects of his 
monograph and the results show what 
may be accomplished by specialization 
and continuous, definitely directed ob- 
servation. 


WHEN this number of BrirRpD-LORE 
reaches its readers, the southward migra- 
tion of birds will already be under way; 
but how many of us will know anything 
about it? Show us a bird student with 
a journal well filled with August notes, 
and we will show you an ornithologist 
who was born, not made. 


, 4 ot Fs 
emg i Ma «rr =pa4 
: Set 


ae 


ee a fits 


TREE SWALLOW 


Order — PASSERES Family — HIRUNDINID@ 
Genus—IkIDOPROCNE Species — BICOLOR 


THE TREE SWALLOW 


By MABEL OSGOOD WRIGHT 


Che Pational Association of Audubon Societies 


EDUCATIONAL LEAFLET NO. 33 


“She is here, she is here, the Swallow! 
Fair seasons bringing, fair years to follow! 
Her belly is white, 
Her back black as night.” 
—Greek Swallow Song. J. A. Symonds, Trans. 


This bird, known also as the White-bellied Swallow, may be easily distin- 
guished from his brethren by his dark back, lustrous with glints of metallic 
blue and green, and his pure white under-parts that extend quite up to the bill; 
a white marking so precise that the dark head marking, at a short distance, 
looks like a cap pulled low. The tail is bluntly forked, while the sharp-pointed 
wings exceed it in length,—this being very noticeable when the bird is at rest 
upon the wayside telegraph wires—his favorite post of vantage. 

If the sight of the Barn Swallow arranging his stucco-work home on the raft- 
ers is one of the signs of coming summer in the real country, so the April return 
of the Tree Swallow is one of the first authentic signs of spring; for, being an 
insect eater, it cannot live until winged insect life abounds. The Phcebe, also 
a. feeder upon winged insects, comes in March, it is true, but locating as it does 
about barnyards and outbuildings, where manure is stored, it is more sure of its 
food-supply than the Tree Swallow, who naturally belongs to the remoter region 
of wooded pond edges, where the frost lingers. 

Time was when: the Tree Swallow was evenly distributed through its range, 
which extends in the northeast as far as Alaska, and could be found nesting 
in the major part of it, but now it has become much localized as a summer 
resident, on account of the difficulty of finding suitable nesting places. Like 

the Bluebirds and Woodpeckers, this Swallow’s natural home 
His Home is a‘tree-hole, and, as land comes under cultivation, the hollow 

trees quickly disappear, except in swampy regions where the 
inaccessibility as well as the half-rotten condition of the timber has saved it. 

In many places, the Tree Swallow, like the Purple Martin, will adapt 
itself to a bird-box, artificial hollow in a post, or even a hollow gourd, such as 
may be found in the south, suspended for the Martins. But, unlike this latter 
bird, or the Barn Swallow, the Tree Swallow does not seem to be gregarious, 
to any great extent, in the nesting season. The coming of the English Sparrow 
has been as disastrous to the semi-domesticated Tree Swallow as to the Martins 
and Bluebirds; so that those who clung to their old haunts and adapted them- 


(179) 


180 Bird- Lore 


selves to new conditions have been obliged to shift ground, and hereabout 
I have only known of one pair nesting during the past five years. 

The nest, or rather hole-lining, is made of dried grass and a few feathers, 
put together without the plaster used by the Barn Swallow, and the half- 
dozen eggs are paper-white like those of the Woodpeckers. This total absence 
of color in the eggs of some notable tree trunk nesters is one of the arguments 
used by the holders of the color-protection theory,—being in a hole the eggs do 
not need the protection of color to conceal them. 

The Tree Swallow is a notable insect-eater and has many attractive domestic 
habits; it is not in the nesting season, but in the long period of the fall migration, 
that we are the most familiar with it. Indeed, this event, spread as it is from 
July to late October, is one of the great spectacular features of bird life; for, 
though the large flocks are made up of both Barn and Bank and Cliff Swallows, 
the Tree Swallows are greatly in the majority. 

By day, these Swallows skim over the meadows and country at large with 
a wide circling flight, easy to distinguish from the more angular course of the 
Barn Swallow. Toward night, they gather either in the marsh reeds or in the 
low bushes of some region of ponds, or the back-water of rivers, where they 
roost, coming forth again in clouds at dawn. 

This fact, that during the migration Swallows invariably roost near water, 
gave rise to the absurd old idea that they dive into the water and spend the 
winter in the muddy bottom in a state of hibernation. From roosting in 
the bushes on the sandy bars above marshes and along creeks where the 
bayberry (Myrica cerijera) is common, the Tree Swallow, kept in cover by 
storms, was doubtless driven by necessity to feed upon the waxy bayberries; 
for certain it is that this berry is the one exception to its insectivorous diet. Miss 
Lemmon has told in Brrp-Lore of one of these flockings at Englewood, N. J.: 

“On October 3, 1899, my attention was called to a huge flock of Tree Swal- 
lows about a quarter of a mile from my home. These birds are abundant here 
from July to October, but on this occasion at least 2,o0o—estimating from pho- 
tographs and from the counting of the live birds—were collected on the telegraph 

wires and in the adjoining fields, and not a single specimen of 
Manoeuvres any other species could be found in the flock. 

“On the wires were hundreds at a time, crowded together 
between three poles; they seemed to have lost their usual fear of man, remain- 
ing even when carriages went under them, and not always starting up when 
the wires were struck by a stone—a temptation to throw which the passing small 
boys found it impossible to resist. 

‘Beside the road is a small brook with two or three exposed pools, and here 
was a great oval whirl of birds, all going in the same direction, each in passing 
dipping for a drink, then rising to re-take its place in the line. Now and then 
some returned to the wires or others joined the drinkers, but the numbers were 
so great that a collision seemed unavoidable. 


The Tree Swallow 181 


“A large part of the flock had settled in a pasture some distance away, in so 
close a group that they made a spot of blue on the short grass. Crossing over 
to these I found them quietly enjoying the sunlight, and, as I approached 
from the southwest, all had their backs toward me, showing to perfection the 
beautiful steel-blue of the feathers. Most of the time they were still, though now 
and then one undertook to walk a few inches, if, indeed, such a ridiculous hobble 
‘could be called a walk. But forty feet was near enough for a person—then those 
nearest me rose, and, passing over the others, alighted in front of them, and so 
they moved regularly on before me. 

“Some of this portion of the flock were on a wire fence near at hand; a very 
small proportion, though over one hundred, were on a single wire between five 
posts, and these were so fearless that when the last one flew I was but two steps 
away. 

“Four or five times during an hour and a half the birds on the telegraph wires 
rose in a body, with those drinking at the brook, while the flock from the pasture 
hurriedly crossed the intervening fields to join them. For a moment the very 
air seemed full of Swallows; then, rising higher, they separated into smaller 
flocks, turning back and forth, meeting again, describing curious figures as 
smoothly and easily as if going through a long-practiced drill. After a few min- 
utes, they either returned, a few at a time, to their former perches or gradually 
scattered over the fields and woods, and in a little while came streaming back, 
a long river of Swallows, to alight once more. 

“‘As the morning advanced their numbers gradually diminished, and at 3 P. M. 
about thirty remained. For three or four days after that these Swallows were 
present in great numbers, continuing their drill, after which I noticed no more 
than usual.” 9 

The Tree Swallow not only comes earlier and stays longer with us than any 
one of the clan, but it is the only one of the family to winter in the United States, 
from South Carolina and southern California to the tropics. By its hardihood, 
it is exposed to the danger of starvation when a sudden drop in the temperature 
not only impairs its vitality but cuts off its food supply. Of one of these tragic 
incidents Mrs, Slosson tells us,—for with these seeming careless birds of pas- 
sage, as with ourselves, it is not always either summer or good living. 

“The cold wave reached us at Miami, on Biscayne Bay, Florida, in the 
night of February 12, 1899. It was preceded by severe thunder storms in the 
evening. On the 13, Monday, it was very cold all over the state, with snow and 
sleet as far south as Ormond and Titusville. Our thermometers at Miami 
ranged from 36° to 40° during the day. As I sat in my room at the hotel, about 
four in the afternoon, I saw a bird outside my window, then another and another, 

and soon the air seemed full of wings. 
| “Opening my window to see what the visitors could be, I found they were 
Tree Swallows. Several flew into my room, others clustered on the window- 
ledge, huddling closely together for warmth. There were hundreds of them about 


182 Bird- Lore 


the house seeking shelter and warmth. They crept in behind the window blinds, 
came into open windows, huddled together by dozens on cornices and sills. 
They were quite fearless; once I held my hand outside and two of them lighted 
on its palm and sat there quietly. As it grew dark and colder their numbers 
increased. They flew about the halls and perched in corners, and the whole 
house was alive with them. Few of the guests in the hotel knew what they were; 
some even called them ‘bats,’ and were afraid they might fly into their faces 
or become entangled in their hair. One man informed those about him that 
they were Humming Birds, ‘the large kind, you know,’ but all were full of 
sympathy for the beautiful little creatures, out in the cold and darkness. A few 
were taken indoors and sheltered through the night, but ‘what were these among 
so many?’ 

“The next morning the sun shone brightly though the weather was still 
very cold—the mercury had fallen below 30° during the night. But as I raised 
the shade of one of my eastern windows I saw a half-dozen of the Swallows 
sitting upon the ledge in the sunshine, while the air seemed again filled with 
flashing wings. I was so relieved and glad. Surely the tiny creatures, with their 
tints of steely blue or shining green contrasting with the pure white of the under 
parts, were more hardy than I had feared. But.alas! it was but a remnant that 
escaped. Hundreds were found dead. Men were sent out with baskets to gather 
the limp little bodies from piazzas, window ledges and copings. It was a pitiful 
sight for St. Valentine Day, when, as the old song has it, ‘The birds are all 
choosing their mates.’ ” 


Questions for Students and Teachers 


When does the Tree Swallow reach your vicinity in the spring? Does it remain 
during the summer? If not, when does it return in the fall. When is it last seen? 
What is the range of the Tree Swallow? On what does it feed? What is the character 
of its nest? Describe its eggs. What other Swallows are found in North America ? 


The Audubon Hocieties 


EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT 


Edited by WILLIAM DUTCHER 


Address all correspondence, and send all remittances for dues and contributions, to 
the National Association of Audubon Societies, 141 Broadway, New York City 


Important Notice 


Many of the members of the National 
Association write that they receive two 
copies of Brirp-Lore. The reason for 
this is that BrrD-LoRE, as the organ of 
the Association, is mailed to all members 
of the Association, and they probably 
overlook this fact and subscribe to the 
magazine in addition to joining the Asso- 
ciation. Members will please bear in 
mind that so long as their annual dues of 
$5 are paid Brrp-Lore will be sent to them 
without any further payment on their 
part. If extra copies of BirD-LoRE are 
desired by members, they can be secured 
of the publishers. 


Legislation 


MaAssACHUSETTS.—This state has failed 
to shorten the open season for wild fowl 
and shore birds, as House Bill 507, which 
was drawn for the purpose, was finally 
referred to the next session of the legis- 
lature. 

Two additional acts were passed, how- 
ever, which will in time establish refuges 
or reservations for forest birds. The first 
was an act to provide for the purchase of 
forest lands and reforestation. It was 
introduced and ably championed by 
Senator Treadway. It was advocated 
by the agent of the National Association, 
but its final passage was largely owing 
to the earnest and efficient work of Rep- 
resentative Gates of Westboro, who has 
been active in all good bird and game legis- 
lation. It empowers the State Forester 
to purchase land or accept donations of 
land in any part of the state, appropriates 
$5,000 and carries an annual appropria- 
tion of $10,000, beginning in 1909. This 


bill will ensure a considerable number of 
small forest reservations which will be 
added to year by year. 

A bill establishing a county reservation 
on Mount Everett, in Berkshire, was fi- 
nally passed through the efforts of Senator 
Treadway. Thus far all forest reserva- 
tions in Massachusetts have been so 
managed as to furnish protection to all 
desirable animals that inhabit them, and 
this policy will undoubtedly be carried 
out, eventually, in all reservations.— 
EE: FP. 


RHODE IsLAND.—The net result of the 
legislation of the year in Rhode Island, 
so far as bird protection is concerned, 
consisted in the passage of a bill prohibit- 
ing the killing of shore birds from Janu- 
ary 1 to August 1, and another making 
an ‘increased appropriation for the use 
of the bird commissioners. This is a great 
advance when it is considered that shore 
birds previously had no protection what- 
ever in the state and that heretofore it 
has been impossible to get an increased 
appropriation. 

The bill providing a close season for up- 
land game passed both houses by a large 
majority, but, on the last day of the ses- 
sion, it was referred to a Senate Committee 
for concurrence in a house amendment 
and the committee failed to report it 
back. 

The Rhode Island Audubon Society 
took an active part in legislative work. 
Very effective assistance was rendered by 
the former Secretary, Mrs. H. T. Grant, 
as well as by the present Secretary, Miss 
Alice W. Wilcox.—E. H. F. 


LoutstaNa.—The session of the legis- 
lature in this state has just closed and it 


(183) 


184 


was a particularly brisk one, so far as the 
Audubon interests were concerned. Ow- 
ing to the activity of the Louisiana Audu- 
bon Society in preventing the sale of the 
plumage of wild birds, especially that of 
White Herons, the New Orleans milliners 
combined and introduced through Sena- 
tor Louque, former attorney for one of the 
millinery firms, Bill No. 110, which was 
intended to repeal that part of the Model 
Law which prohibited the sale of the 
plumage of birds or parts thereof whether 
taken within or without the state. The 
hearing on this bill, at which five members 
of New Orleans dry goods firms were 
present, occupied nearly two hours, but 
the milliners were unable to make out a 
case and the committee having the bill iu 
charge voted against its progressing any 
further. The chief spokesman for the 
milliners tried to cloud the issue by refer- 
ring to the possibility of confusing exotic 
plumage with that of species found in 
Louisiana. On the other hand, President 
Miller, of the State Audubon Society, 
and Mr. Kopman, field agent of this Asso- 
ciation, kept prominently before the com- 
mittee that it was necessary to forbid the 
sale of plumage of all birds whether exotic 
or local, in order to protect local birds. 
Preventing the repeal of the Model Law 
was a great victory and cannot fail to 
have its effect in other parts of the coun- 
try. 

President Miller has been advocating 
for many months, and by his educational 
work had gradually prepared the way for 
the passage of two bills, which, after a 
strenuous fight, are now laws and place 
the state of Louisiana among the leaders 
so far as good bird and game legislation is 
concerned. The bills were introduced in 
the House by Representative Ventress and 
were known as Numbers 82 and 83. 

Bill No. 82 was to establish a Board 
of Commissioners for the protection of 
birds and game and fish, defining their 
duties and empowering them to employ 
game and fish wardens and to provide the 
means to carry this into effect. The legis- 
lature of Louisiana, through this bill, has 
done a great deal to protect one of the 


Bird - Lore 


state’s most valuable assets, for no matter 
how excellent the game laws of a common- 
wealth may be, if there is no one to see 
that the laws are enforced, they are prac- 
tically valueless. 

Bill No. 83 provides for hunters’ li- 
censes, resident, non-resident, and alien, 
and also fixes the open seasons. This is 
one of the greatest advances ever made in 
bird and game legislation in Louisiana, 
especially as it removes Robins and Cedar- 
birds from the game list. At one time it 
was not thought possible that this could 
be done, but, owing to the splendid educa- 
tional work referred to above, this radical 
measure was passed, only by a bare 
majority, however. 

The Louisiana Audubon Society was 
organized in 1904. Mr. Frank M. Miller 
was elected President and has remained 
in that important position up to the pres- 
ent time. When he took charge of the 
work, he found a commonwealth with 
practically no bird or game laws of any 
kind and, in consequence, song and insec- 
tiverous birds were commonly sold in the 
markets. The birds of the coast had been 
almost exterminated, and, in addition, 
the state of Louisiana, furnished a very 
large part of the Cardinals and Mocking- 
birds that were exported from this country. 
In contrast, it is but justice to Mr. Miller 
to call attention to the present conditions 
in Louisiana which are almost entirely 
due to his splendid educational work and 
his activities in other lines. Louisiana now 
has some of the best game laws in force 
in the country, has a self-supporting Game 
Commission, has entirely prevented the 
export of live birds, has prohibited entirely 
the sale of wild birds’ plumage, irrespec- 
tive of where the plumage comes from, and 
has a greater number of Federal Bird Res- 
ervations than any other state in the coun- 
try, and, in addition, owns or controls a 
large number of bird-breeding islands; 
in this latter respect, it is the banner state 
in the country.—W. D. 


OxLtaHoma.—At the close of the first 
session of the legislature of the new state 
of Oklahoma, the Audubon Societies 


The Audubon Societies 185 


found that they had been defeated. Very 
early in the session of the legislature a 
combination bill was introduced contrary 
to the advice of this Association, which 
very strongly urged that the Model Law 
be introduced as one bill and a game law 
be introduced as a second bill. Unfortu- 
nately our advice was not taken and, as a 
result, the Model Law was defeated, owing 
to the fight over the fish and game portion 
of the bill. Probably there was a further 
reason why the bill was not passed, in that 
the National Association did not feel that 
it could afford to send an expert repre- 
sentative to the legislature in order to pre- 
sent to the legislators the importance of a 
statute to protect the birds and game of 
the state; but, owing to the condition of 
the finances of the National Association, an 
appropriation for this purpose could not 
be made. One of the contributory causes 
that prevented the enactment of a bird and 
game law was that the sportsmen’s organi- 
zations were mistakenly opposed to that 
portion of the bill referring to open seas- 
ons and, as they were organized, they 
flooded both the Senate and House with 
typewritten arguments especially criti- 
cising the open season for Quail and the 
bag limit, insisting that the season was 
too short and the bag limit too small. 

A second cause was the heavy penal- 
ties provided in the bill against the oil pro- 
ducers for allowing oil from their wells to 
run into creeks and fish streams. A third 
cause was the provision prohibiting shoot- 
ing on the Sabbath day, which was vehe- 
mently opposed by the sportsmen’s organi- 
zation. In addition to the above causes, 
the conditions existing in that portion of 
Oklahoma, which was formerly Indian 
Territory were so unlike those in the 
other portions of the state that it was hard 
to frame a law satisfactory to the two 
sections. 

The leaders in both houses, after the 
first two months of the session, saw, or 
pretended to see, the absolute necessity 
of subordinating all minor subjects, and 
they seemed to regard the matter of bird 
and game protection as one of these, to the 
enactment of laws necessary to put the 


provisions of the new state constitution 
in operation; and in this, again, the condi- 
tions in the two territories forming the 
state presented problems that called into 
activity the wisest thought and judgment 
of the legislature. 

In the last four days of the session 
repeated conferences were held by the 
game committees of the two houses, but 
every effort to get the senate committee 
to agree to the house bill proved abortive, 
and the friends of the birds finally in 
sorrow and regret reluctantly gave up 
the fight. 

Notwithstanding the fact that all bird 
and game legislation was finally defeated, 
yet there were a large number of senators 
and representatives who were very ar- 
dently in favor of the bills, and in this con- 
nection it is only proper to give the high- 
est credit to General J. C. Jamison for 
the splendid work he did in advyocat- 
ing the bills although he was not a 
member of the legislature; much of the 
work he did was at the cost of serious 
physical discomfort.—W. D. 


GrEoRGIA.—We now have before the 
legislature of this state a bill, almost a 
fac-simile of the Alabama law, which is one 
of the best in the country. It has passed 
one branch of the legislature already and 
it is hoped that it will become a law before 
the end of the session. 

Secretary Pearson has already spent 
considerable time at Atlanta urging the 
passage of the bill, and early in July, by 
invitation, Commissioner John H. Wal- 
lace, Jr., of Alabama, addressed the legis- 
lature on the subject of game preserva- 
tion, confining his remarks largely to the 
economic value of birds. At the conclusion 
of his remarks over half of the members 
of the House and Senate came forward 
and expressed themselves as being favor- 
able to the bill. Commissioner Wallace 
went as the accredited representative of 
the National Association. The bill pro- 
vides for the establishment of a game 
commission and also for the hunter’s 
license feature, both being necessary in 
Georgia as elsewhere. 


186 


Reservation News 


Mr. George N. Chamberlin writes 
concerning the Mosquito Inlet Reserva- 
tion, the establishment of which was 
announced in Brirp-LoRE for March- 
April, 1908 (p. 95), as follows: 

Mosquito INLET RESERVATION.— 
“Before leaving Florida I called on Mr. 
D. D. Rogers, C. E., to ascertain the loca- 
tion of Township line 16, being the north 
line of the reservation, and was gratified 
to, know that it is about 1,600 feet north 
of Port Orange Bridge, six miles north of 
the Lighthouse, taking in a small island 


Bird - Lore 


close to the northern limit known as Peli- 
can Island, Halifax River, the nesting 
place for hundreds of Blue Herons. The 
approximate length of the reservation 
from north to south is nearly thirteen 
miles. The south line crossing the Hills- 
boro River about two miles south of 
Hawke’s Park, Florida.” 


PASSAGE Key, FLoRIDA.—Miss Eleanor 
P. Earle, one of our life members, writes 
as follows: 

““When we were at Passage Key last 
Friday, there were four eggs in nearly all 
of the Skimmer’s nests, and if not dis- 


Part of 


MOSQUITO INLET RESERVATION 


For Protection of Birds 


FLORIDA 


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North 
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South 


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The Audubon Societies 


turbed they will soon have four of the 
sweetest little yellow-gray puff balls that 
you ever saw. 

““A good many young Gulls are flying 
and we think by next month they all will 
be through nesting. 

“The Little Blue Herons are just about 
beginning to hatch now; we have found 
eggs as late as July. The mangroves 
around the big pond must have become 
a little too crowded for the Louisiana 
Herons, for nearly half of them nested 
around the little pond, where the highest 
mangrove is hardly twelve feet. I wonder 
how the Red-wings and Grackles liked 
their new neighbors? 

“Isn’t it fine the way Great Blue and 
Ward’s Herons have taken. to Passage 
Key? The first year, 1906, there were 
only about six, and we don’t know whether 
they nested or not; last year there were, 
after they had all hatched, about 130; this 
year nearly 4oo on the Key. Of course, 
they may not all have nested but most of 
them did; I counted 78 nests. You under- 
stand that all the young raised are in- 
cluded in that 4oo. 

“Passage Key is certainly beautiful 
now, but there’s never a time when it is 
not, and there is one thing that we all wish 
all the time, and that is, for you to see it. 

“We put up the new reservation 
notices on Passage Key, but have not got- 
ten over to Indian Key yet; we think we 
may get there the last of next week. 
‘United States Bird Reservation’ seems 
to make a great impression on everybody 
that reads it.” 


TorRTUGAS, FLORIDA.—Prof. Alfred G. 
Mayer, who takes a deep interest in this 
reservation, writes as follows from the 
Marine Laboratory of the Carnegie In- 
stitution, on June 2t. 

“I am now happy to say that we have 
decidedly ‘the upper hand’ in the rat 
problem. The combination of azoa, 
strychnine, barium carbonate, cyanide of 
potassium and guillotine traps have ren- 
dered them rare both on Bird Key and 
on Loggerhead, so that the nesting Terns 
are now not appreciably interfered with. 


187 


“The actual number of rats on Bird 
Key appears not to have been more than 
100-200. You know they breed every 
two months and often have ten young at 
a time. 

“The Least Terns are having an un- 
usual immunity on Loggerhead Key this. 
season, and I have effectually checked 
the shooting and egg-eating propensities. 
formerly indulged in by the lighthouse 
keepers. 

“The Least Tern colony on Bush Key 
is larger than ever; there may be 1,000 
birds there. 

“Since I abolished shooting here the 
Herons and other transient visitors have 
become so tame that one may with care 
approach within ten feet of them; we have 
several on the island now. 

“The lighthouse keeper desired to con- 
tinue the shooting of Sharp-shinned 
Hawks, but I told him that all birds were 
protected. Undoubtedly every stray shot 
would have been at a ‘Sharp-shinned’ 
Hawk.’ 

“Your man on Bird Key is an ardent 
rat-trapper and is doing well as a warden.’” 


BATTLEDORE IsLAND, LA.—Through 
the courtesy of the National Association 
and of Mr. Frank M. Miller, President 
of the Louisiana Audubon Society, I was. 
enabled to spend the first eleven days of 
June, 1908, on the Association patrol 
boat, ‘Royal Tern,’ on a cruise over the 
entire Breton Island Reservation, off the 
coast of Louisiana, and among all the 
islands owned or controlled by the Louisi- 
ana Audubon Society. In this _ brief 
general statement preliminary to a full 
report I have space only for some general 
remarks. 

My main impression is of a vast area 
of shallow waters, low-lying islands of salt 
marsh, and outer sand-keys far to seaward, 
in all, hundreds of square miles, most of it 
teeming, sometimes swarming, with bird- 
life. I was too late to see the immense 
squadrons of wintering or migratory wild- 
fowl, which, after enjoying this peaceful 
haven of refuge where guns are outlawed, 
had departed for the far north. All but 


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NOILVAYASAN ALAIOOS NOANGAV VNVISINOT ‘AGNVISI AYOGATLLIVA ‘SNYAL TVAOU 


Pe ee aie Ot me, 
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The Audubon Societies 


the tag end of the shore-bird migration 
had also passed on, giving me only a few 
glimpses of lingering Dowitchers, Turn- 
stones, Sanderlings, Yellow-legs, and Red- 
backed Sandpipers, and no sight of the 
hordes of Golden Plovers, the last flock 
having been seen by the warden the week 
before my visit. A few southern-breeding 
shore-birds—Wilson’s Plovers, Oyster- 
catchers and Willets—were all that re- 
mained after my first week. 

But other hosts were there,—wonderful, 
spectacular. Everywhere could be heard 
the cackle of the ever-present Laughing 
Gull, which bred by scores, hundreds, or 
thousands, as the case might be, on nearly 
every one of the numerous islands of the 
reservation, and on many others not yet 
protected. This species was the most 
abundant and widely-distributed of all. 
With them were occasional small colonies 
of Forster’s Terns, perhaps a couple of 
dozen nests in each group, built on areas 
of drift-weed washed up on the marsh. 
Many of the inner marshy islands had 
strips of low mangrove bushes or clumps 
of weeds, in which, or on the ground by 
them, nested great numbers of Louisiana 
Herons. Occasionally there were with 
them a few Black-crowned Night Herons, 
locally known as ‘Grosbecs.’ On just one 
island was a pitiful remnant of former 
great colonies of the superlative Snowy 
Heron. Luckily I was able to secure a 
splendid series of intimate photographic 
studies of the home life of this exquisite 
but unfortunate possessor of the damning 
(to all concerned) aigrette plumes. A 
flock of some two hundred of the larger 
American Egrets seen by Warden Sprinkle 
in April did not return to breed. 

On certain of the outer sand keys are 
immense breeding areas of Royal and 
Cabot’s Terns, of the wonders of which 
even the accompanying photograph can 
give but an imperfect impression, as com- 
pared with the actual sights and sounds. 
Gales and high tides are now a worse 
enemy of these birds than man. A few 
days preceding my visit, a high tide, in 
calm weather at that, obliterated an area 
of probably from 1,500 to. 2,000 nests. 


189 


A few small colonies of the Caspian Tern 
were noted. The largest of these, with 
some 200 nests, had just lost all their eggs 
by raccoons. Save for a few Least Terns 
which one day flew by the vessel, I did 
not find the species on the reservation. 
No other Terns were noted than the above 
kinds. 

Another abundant bird is the curious 
Black Skimmer, which lays in numerous 
groups of from a few dozen to a couple of 
hundred pairs just above high-water mark 
on the dry beaches of these outer keys. 
Brown Pelicans and Man-o’-war Birds 
had finished nesting, and, when not feed- 
ing, resorted to the outer keys and sand- 
bars to rest, the latter by thousands, acres 
and acres of them. 

The abundance of bird-life here begins 
to suggest what it must have been in these 
waters in the palmy days before greedy 
millinery interests and brainless fashion 
started in unholy alliance to exterminate 
the wild birds of America. Much of the 
credit for the present encouraging con- 
ditions on this part of the southern coast 
is due to Frank M. Miller, as leader and 
instigator, and to the backing of the mem- 
bers of the Louisiana Audubon Society, 
as well as to many of the members of 
the Louisiana legislature, who have been 
broad-minded enough to realize the value 
of this great work and to close their ears 
to the clamor of selfish interests. In Capt. 
William M. Sprinkle, the warden, whom 
I found a delightful companion, and whose 
thorough acquaintance with every foot of 
those five hundred square miles of shallows 
was my perpetual amazement, the Audu- 
bon Societies and the National Govern- 
ment have a most faithful and efficient 
ally in guarding this great reservation.— 
HERBERT K. Jos. 


WILLow ISLAND, Conn.—Willow Is- 
land, the new bird refuge recently leased 
by the National Association of Audubon 
Societies, is situated in the Connectiuct 
river between Middletown and Portland, 
Connecticut, and contains a little more 
than thirty-three acres. It is about three- 
quarters of a mile long and an eighth of 


190 


a mile wide. Much of this island is heavily 
wooded, willow, cotton-wood and elm trees 
predominating. Many of the cotton woods 
(poplars) are stately trees, being from 
seventy to ninety feet high. The open por- 
tion of the island is covered with grass, 
and a dense growth of underbrush contri- 
butes to its picturesqueness. 


Bird - 


Lore 


used to think that the now restricted 
island was the best, and almost the only, 
local place in which to study this interest- 
ing bird. 

During the migrations the island is the 
stopping place of innumerable Warblers, 
Sparrows and other birds that move north 
and south through the Connecticut val- 


Se set a - 


SOUTH END OF WILLOW ISLAND, NEAR PORTLAND, CONN. 


Photographed by Miss Harriet Sage 


Willow Island is a favorite nesting place 
for the Wilson’s Thrush, or Veery, the 
Yellow Warbler, Baltimore Oriole, Rose- 
breasted Grosbeak, Scarlet Tanager, Red- 
start, Catbird, Maryland Yellow-throat, 
Song and Swamp Sparrows, and Spotted 
Sandpipers. In the early sixties, before 
the Rose-breasted Grosbeak was as com- 

on as at the present time, the writer 


ley. The rare Mourning Warbler has 
been observed there in the spring, and in 
the autumn it is not unusual to see the 
Connecticut Warbler. 

Woodcock find the island a retreat; an 
occasional Ruffed Grouse is started from 
the thick undergrowth, and a bevy of 
Quail sometimes flies from the main- 
land to seek protection desired. 


The Audubon Societies 


Deer stop on the island but do not 
violate the state laws as there are no 
gardens to destroy. 

Willow island is a ‘station’ for many 
rare plants, some of them no doubt being 
deposited there during the spring freshets. 

This island is one of the most beautiful 
and attractive pieces of land in the Con- 
necticut and with the present 
desire for the wanton destruction of tim- 
ber it is a relief and comfort to know that 
one spot is saved from devastation.— 
JouN H. SaGE. 

[The National Association has leased 
Willow -Island for five years with the 
privilege of purchasing it for $3,500. 

Plans are now being made to raise this 
amount through a popular subscription 
in Connecticut, especially among the 
school children, in order to purchase this 
island and make it a bird refuge in per- 
petuity. 

According to recent statistics, there are 
in the state 227,547 children of school age, 
and a contribution of less than two cents 
each would more than provide the neces- 
sary fund for the purchase of Willow 
island. What a grand thing it will be for 
the children of the State of Connecticut 
to purchase and make Willow Island a 
perpetual home and refuge for birds]. 


river, 


A NEw Park AND BirD REFUGE.— 
Mr. Walmsley, the president of the Miss- 
ourl Audubon Society, is also secretary 
of the Kansas City Zoological Society. 
He sends the following brief description 
of the new park: 

“In reply to your request for infor- 
mation as to our Zoological Park will say 
that it is located in one of our city parks of 
over 1,300 acres and known as Swope 
Park. This park is full of wild life and 
the employees are already trapping 
wolves, foxes and other wild animals to be 
placed in the new Zoo. We have set aside 
sixty acres to be enclosed and on which 
to erect animal buildings for temporary 
quarters. The city has set aside $15,000 
(and an additional $10,000 is available) 
for the purpose of erecting these build- 
ings. They will be built of stone and cement 


IQr 


quarried within the park. Through this. 
sixty acres runs a little creek fed by several 
springs. Along this creek on either side 
rise minature rocky cliffs and it is the plan 
to hollow out these cliffs into dens with 
enclosures in front for such animals as 
live in rocky dens. A drive will pass over 
the tops of these dens and on either side 
of the creek in front of them so that all 
kinds of views can be had of the animals. 

“The creek will be built into a series of 
cascades for about a thousand feet and 
in each basin will be placed aquatic 
animals, also plants and fish. To the 
west of this valley lies about 160 acres of 
level ground in which I hope in time to 
locate the Botanical Gardens. Through 
Swope Park and immediately bordering. 
the sixty acres at present laid out, flows 
the Blue river, a beautiful little stream. 
Near the entrance at Swope Park, and 
immediately to the southwest of the sixty 
acres, is a stone building known as the 
shelter house which we hope to convert 
into a museum gathering therien all the 
private collections of this section; and 
here, the children can examine the mounted 
specimens and then go into the main park 
and become familiar with them in life. 

‘“‘While we are only beginning in a small 
way we expect to have a Zoological Gar- 
den of which we can all be proud. Nature 
has certainly provided us with a location 
that could not be surpassed.” 


Tue FARMINGTON MOUNTAIN RESER- 
VATION.—Perhaps your readers may be 
interested to hear that the owners of the 
Farmington (Conn.) Mountains have 
agreed together to make the mountains a 
kind of Yellowstone Park reservation 
for all the wild life of the state; there is to. 
be no hunting of any kind for ten years. 
And it is proposed to stock the reservation 
with the three or four game birds which 
have been exterminated. The Pinnated 
Grouse, the Wild Turkey, and, we might 
add, the Ruffed Grouse. The Farmington 
Mountains, which are really high trap. 
ledges, are a continuation of the Green 
Mountains, and if the whole range of 
mountains running through New England 


192 


(with its outlying spurs) could be made 
a complete reservation for wild life, we feel 
sure that it would be of practical benefit 
to this section of the country. Or, in other 
words, the same intelligence used in keep- 
ing a chicken-coop, applied to the moun- 
tains and wild game birds, might surprise 
us all.—RoBERT B. BRANDEGEE. 


Bahama News 


“Late in May I found that seabirds’ 
eggs were for sale all about the streets of 
Nassau, cooked and uncooked for twelve 
cents a dozen. I was assured by some of 
the merchants that they were a great lux- 
ury and to test the truth bought and ate 
them. They are decidedly inferior to hens’ 
eggs and about two-thirds the size: I 
suppose they are eaten on every habitable 
island of the Bahamas. I do not think 
there will be an opposition to an amend- 
ment of the present bird law or the inser- 
tion of a clause prohibiting the sale of or 
taking of eggs. This will have some effect, 
necessarily slight, however. When food- 
stuffs are dearer, many of them at a pre- 
mium, and the people who gather the eggs 
can neither read nor write, you will pre- 
ceive that improvement must be slow. 
It will call for much missionary effort 
among the eggers, literature for the better 
class, etc., to make any impression on the 
situation. The only way to better condi- 
' tions is to educate the people; this I am 
trying to do single-handed. If I had a 
little pecuniary assistance, I could accom- 
plish a great deal more. 

“By the most fatiguing labor I have 
succeeded in starting a new and well 
organized movement for industrial edu- 
cation. Since March the Governor has 
had the articles of Association under con- 
sideration, and I hope to hear by next 
mail that the Columbus Institute is incor- 
porated. On this institute almost every- 
thing depends, the lives of the birds in 
particular. People who are ignorant and 
suffering cannot be made to protect any- 
thing. This school will be a sort of monu- 
ment to the achievement of Columbus 
and on this ground I appeal for aid. 


Bird - 


Lore 


“T am writing this letter hurriedly, that 
you may know how matters stand. I will 
give you any further information you may 


wish. I hope the American people will 
respond to this call.”—AticeE M. Boyn- 
TON. 


Government Aid 


Prior to the present year thousands of 
Seabirds’ eggs were brought from the 
Bahamas to the Key West market by 
‘spongers, turtlers and fishermen. This 
matter was brought to the attention of 
the Secretary of the Treasury who directed 
the Customs Officials at Key West to stop 
the traffic, as explained by the following 
letter: 

“Port of Key West, May 29, 1908. 

“Acknowledging the receipt of your 
letter dated the 25th inst., I beg to say 
that acting under the instructions of the 
Honorable Secretary of the Treasury, 
steps have been taken to prevent the bring- 
ing into this district eggs of Seabirds from 
the Bahamas.—Very respectfully, RAMON 
ALVAREZ, Special Deputy Collector.” 


The Plume Trade 


“The second and third of the year’s 
feather sales were held at the Commercial 
Sale Rooms on April 14 and June to. 
On both occasions there was a numerous 
attendance of buyers, and ‘a good demand’ 
is reported. At the former there were 338 
packages of ‘Osprey,’ chiefly East Indian 
and Rangoon, and 270 Impeyan Pheas- 
ants. Some 6,800 Birds-of-Paradise were 
catalogued. Among the notable features 
of the sale were the great number of Par- 
rots (8,299 entered by one firm), chiefly 
Indian paroquets; the Kingfishers (8,920), 
the Victoria and Coronata Crowned Pig- 
eons (1937 from one firm, 5,350 by 
another), and over 15,000 Sooty Terns, 
the last named having the trade name of 
‘Dominoes.’ At the June sale 15,500 
Sooty Terns were again catalogued. This 
no doubt means that some breeding places 
of the species have been raided and all the 
birds killed. A number of other species of 
Tern were also on sale. Kingfishers were 


The Audubon Societies 


in large supply, selling at 3$d. to 33d. 
each. Impeyan Pheasants were gs, 3d. 
each. Trogons od. to 2s. 7d., Orioles 1$d., 
Tanagers 43d., Ruby Hummingbirds 
14d. Victoria and Coronata Pigeons were 
represented by over 8,000 heads and 
crests. There were 205 packages of 
‘Osprey,’ mostly from Asia; and 6,190 
Birds-of-Paradise.” (From Bird Notes 
and News,’ London). 

The above ghastly list of nature’s finest 
gems was sufficient reason for the intro- 
duction of ‘“‘The Plumage Prohibition 
Bill” into the House of Lords by Lord 
Avebury on May 5. The important pro- 
vision is: ‘‘Any person who, after January 
I, 1909, shall import or bring into the 
United Kingdom for the purpose of sale 
or exchange the plumage, skin, or body, 
or any part of the plumage, skin, or body 
of any dead bird which is not included 
in the schedule of exemption to this Act 
shall be guilty of an offence, and shall, 
on summary conviction, be liable to a 
penalty of not exceeding £5, and for 
every subsequent offence to a penalty of 
not exceeding £25, and in every case the 
court shall order the forfeiture and de- 
struction of the articles in respect of which 
the offence has been committed.” 

The birds exempted in the schedule are 
““Ostriches, Eider Ducks and wild birds 
used as an article of diet.”” Names of for- 
eign wild birds may be added or removed 
from the schedule by consent of the Privy 
Council. Lord Avebury said the Bill was 
introduced at the request of the Zoological 
Society of London, the Linnean Society 
of London, the Selborne Society and the 
Royal Society for the Protection of Birds; 
further the bill had the support of the 
naturalists of the country, and especially 
of all lovers of birds. The bill has been 
most cordially and sympathetically re- 
ceived by the press. 

The Manchester (Eng.) Guardian says: 
“The wail of the wholesale feather trade, 
which is beginning to be heard since the 
welcome to Lord Avebury’s Importation 
of Plumage Bill, gives one unintentionally 
an excellent piece of news. For it is an 
item of their gloom that nearly all the raw 


193 


skins and plumage used throughout the 
Continent come into the London market 
in the first instance. 

““Of course, it is possible that foreign 
countries would obtain their supplies 
direct, but at least if the Bill passes, the 
deplorable trade would be so disorganized 
that it might never return to the present 
appalling statistics of slaughter.” 

The millinery trade is evidently greatly 
stirred up over Lord Avebury’s Bill or 
they would not publish such a foolish 
statement regarding aigrettes as follows: 
“In regard to aigrettes, the people who 
collect these are not so foolish as to kill 
the goose that lays the golden egg, and in 
Venezuela, which produces the biggest lot 
of aigrettes, not one bird is killed, but the 
feather is picked up at certain seasons of 
the year when the bird casts its feathers.”” 

This ancient but untruthful story has 
been shown up so often that it is fast 
becoming a joke. Why won’t the milli- 
nery trade frankly acknowledge what they 
know to be true, that in order to obtain 
the plumes known as ‘aigrettes’ White 
Herons have to be killed while the plumes 
are in good condition. Why won’t the 
milliners be honest and acknowledge that 
when the parent birds are killed the help- 
less nestlings must die of starvation. 

Will the milliners please explain why 
there are no White Herons left in Florida 
now, while a score of years ago they could 
be found there in countless numbers? 
If ‘“‘the feather plume is picked up at cer- 
tain seasons of the year when the bird 
casts its feathers,’’ why should the White 
Herons have disappeared? The Paris 
letter in The Millinery Trade Review 
(New York) for July says: ‘Black and 
white aigrette dyed in bright light shades 
is very much in it too, the favorite tints 
being rose-pink, maize, brown-yellow, 
apricot, old rose and steel-gray. Birds 
continue in considerable favor, Birds-of- 
Paradise taking first rank, white and 
brown Cockatoos and White Owls and 
Macaws coming next.” It is evident that 
the millinery trade do not intend to aban- 
don the use of the plumage of wild birds 
except so far as they are compelled to do 


194 


so by drastic laws, and it is therefore high 
time that laws similar to the Avebury Bill 
shall be enacted by all the civilized nations. 
An international convention should be 
held at an early date to urge such legisla- 
tion or it will be too, late to save many 
species of valuable and interesting birds 
from extermination.—W. D. 


A Pleasant Letter 


No letters ever reach the office of the 
Association that pleasure 
than those received from young people, 


give greater 
who not only give their sympathy and 
support to the work of bird protection 
but show from their letters that they are 
keen and intelligent observers of bird- 
life. The following is one of the best 
letters of this character that has ever been 
received. 

“T wish to become a member of the 
Audubon Society. Enclosed please find 
five dollars dues. I am eleven years old 
and am very interested in birds. I have 
enjoyed Brrp-LoRE very much for two 
years. J was much interested in reading 
about the Frigate Birds in the South 
Seas. We have made two voyages to the 
‘South Seas but I never heard of these 
birds being used like the Homing Pigeon. 
The story of the Petrel also gave me pleas- 
ure, as I saw many Albatrosses when we 
went around the Cape of Good Hope to 
New Zealand. I have asked several friends 
to join the Audubon Society.—Yours sin- 
cerely, HELEN GoRDON CAMPBELL.” 


In Memoriam 


Mrs. Emma F. Bush, a member of this 
Association, died December 7, 1907. 
Though a partial cripple she took up the 
study of birds about six years since and 
by her own unaided efforts made great 
progress. She gave bird talks to the local 
Audubon Society of which she was a 
prominent member. Mr. Bush writes: 
“Second to the work of forest preserva- 
tion, comes to my mind the work of the 
Audubon Society. I send you my check 
for $ro, and shall be pleased to send you 


Bird - Lore 


at least this much each year as a continual 
contribution from Mrs. Bush.” 


Announcement 


The Rev. Herbert K. Job, owing to 
the increasing public demands upon his 
time, and at the advice of his associates 
in the ministry, is shortly to try the experi- 
ment of devoting his time to writing and 
lecturing. Concluding a ten-years’ min- 
istry in Kent, Connecticut, the last of 
next October, he will locate in the sub- 
urbs of New Haven. He has accepted a 
position with The Outing Magazine, 
and, beginning with the January number, 
that periodical will publish his illustrated 
articles, written from the standpoint of 
the popularizing of bird study and of bird 
protection, thus making itself a useful 
ally of the Audubon Societies. Mr. Job 
is open to engagements for bird lectures 
during the coming season, and may be 
addressed for the present at Kent, but 
after Novemper 1, at 291 Main St., 
West Haven, Conn. 


Women’s Clubs 


Mrs. May Riley Smith, of this city, at- 
tended the biennial meeting of the General 
Federation of Women’s Clubs, which was 
held at Symphony hall, in Boston, the 
week of June 23, as the representative of 
the National Association of Audubon 
Societies, to present a paper on bird pro- 
tection. 

“It was my desire to have the delegates 
and representative members from the dif- 
ferent parts of the country take this ques- 
tion home with them, to interest their 
clubs and friends, and to tell them the 
facts as I gave them in my paper, and also 
to impress upon the delegates the serious 
importance of prompt effort.” 

Mrs. Smith reports, “‘The audience was 
most attentive, giving me a hearty wel- 
come and seeming to be en rapport with 
me in all I said. I did not mince the mat- 
ter, but I presented the facts courteously 
and kindly and have had many enthusi- 
astic congratulations since.” 


The Foremost Recent Book on Animals 


By ERNEST INGERSOLL 


LIFE OF ANIMALS: The 
Mammals 


Second Edition, Enlarged. 555 Pages, Octavo. Decorated Cloth. 
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HE idea of the book is to interest the reader in the life of the four-footed 

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Along with this popularity the scientific accuracy of the book is well recognized, 
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intelligently traced the relation between the past (fossil history) and the present of 
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FOR SCHOOL For teachers and parents and all who 

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of its President, Decorated cloth, xx + 437 pages 

Mr. William Dutcher $1.75 net; by mail, $1.90 


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and, with Dr. ELLIOTT COUES 
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THE MACMILLAN COMPANY, Publishers 


64-66 FIFTH AVENUE, NEW YORK 


SEPTEMBER—OCTOBER, 1908 


EDITED BY 
FRANK M. CHAPMAN 


‘ PUBLISHED FOR THE AUDUBON SOCIETIES 


The Wacmillan Company 


HARRISBURG, PA. 


COPYRIGHT, 1908, BY FRANK M. CHAPMAN 


LONDON 


WHird- Lore 


September - October, 1908 


CONTENTS 


GENERAL ARTICLES PAGE 
FRONTISPIECE, PH@BE, SAY’S PH@BE, BLACK PH@BE............ Bruce Horsjall.. 
A Raven’s Nest. Illustrated ............-.---002 2+ sees eee eee Francis H. Allen.. 195 
HUMMINGBIRD ECCENTRICITIES. Illustrated ..-... ...-. .---./ Mary Pierson Allen.. 198 
AN IMIOCRAENCEMRIDS) NID, sqocdcccoc cconnd udoeon Dahods cosnec Albert V. Goodpasture.. 20% 
THr GROWTH OF YOUNG BLACK-BILLED Cuckoos. Illustrated ...A. A. Saunders.. 205 
CHESTNUT-SIDED WARBLER. A Study. Illustrated ........ .... Mary C. Dickerson.. 207 
ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAK. Illustration .........220..200+ +--+ seeeee F. E. How2.. 209 
THE MIGRATION OF FLYCATCHERS. Sixth Paper. Illustrated with colored plates 
from drawings by Louis Agassiz Fueries and Bruce Horsjfali ..... W.W. Cooke.. 210 
Froripa BLuE JAY. Illustration .........---..----..--+2----- Frank M. Chapman.. 212 
NOTES FROM FIELD AND STUDY ................ ie ans UNIT I ec 213 


NorEs ON THE VARIED THRUSH, Mrs. Stephen V. Thayer; NEST-BUILDING IN 
Aucust, Alexander Pope; PROTECTING YOUNG BIRDS FROM Cats, Elizabeth A. 
Reed; A Rosin Note, Bruce Horsfall; A TRAGEDY IN Birp-LiFe, Illustrated, 
Emma Van Gilluwe; NoTES ON THE ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAK, A. D. Tinker; 
Notes oN THE Woop THRUuSH, Edward S. Dingle. 


BOOK NEWS AND REVIEWS....................--.--- fal dace aereanive atecsotatnaacle relegate temsteners 218 
THE ORNITHOLOGICAL MAGAZINES; BOOK NEws. 


LHD Gl OD 28 0 peu ar ane ie UNI Rc NMR ee Rn Et ARNE Dba tie nen een eT MIA GAR STEN at Daan mare 6 0.00 220 


EDUCATIONAL LEAFLET NO. 34. THe GoLpEN-CROWNED KINGLET; THE RuUBy- 
CROWNED KINGLET, Illustrated in colors by Bruce Horsfall.... Mabel Osgood Wright.. 221% 


AUDUBON SOCIETIES—EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT.........................2.--0%- 225 
Notice or ANNUAL MEETING OF THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF AUDUBON 
Soctetres; A VALUABLE Book; WHAT Birps Witt Nest 1n Houses; PRorec- 
TION FOR SNOwy Heron; A NEw AUDUBON SOCIETY; PROGRESS IN SOUTH 
Daxota, MassacHusetts Notes; Notes From NortH CAROLINA; RESERVA- 
TION NOTES. 


»*,Manuscripts intended for publication, books, etc., for review and exchanges, should be 
sent to the Editor, at the American Museum of Natural History, 77th Street and Sith Avenue, 
New York City, N. Y 


SPECIAL NOTICE 


We take the liberty of sending this number of BIRD-LORE 
to subscribers whose subscription expired August 1, 1908, 
in the belief that the matter of renewal has been overlooked. 

On renewal, a copy of the Colored Wild Turkey Plate 
will be forwarded. 


Entered as second-class mail matter in the Post Office at Harrisburg, Pa. 


FOR BIRD-LOVERS 


Audubon Plates for Prizes 


No Bird Pictures equal those of Audubon, whose name today stands for 
bird-protection all over America. We have some copies of the 1858 edition of 
Audubon Plates, brought out by Victor G. and John V. Audubon, which sell 
at from $4 to $8 each. Every Audubon Society and every bird-lover wants 
one or more of these large copies—delightful and beautiful ornaments. 


\ \ es You can secure one: Send us five subscriptions 
ithout Cost to Forest and Stream, the best magazine for 
nature-lovers and outdoor men and women, and besides paying a liberal cash 
commission on each subscription as it is received, we will give as a special 
prize one of these splendid plates of American Birds, each natural size and 
color, and with its natural surroundings. Five subscriptions can be secured 
in any neighborhood—right among one’s friends and neighbors. The prize 
alone is worth the effort. Here are some of the plates: 
Crow Blackbird Purple Finch Rose-breasted Grosbeak 
Crested Titmouse Cross Bill Ruby-throated Hummingbird 
Carolina Titmouse Blue Grosbeak Purple Finch 


For Samples, Supplies and Particulars, write today. 


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127 Franklin Street, NEW YORK 


THE CONDOR 4,Masazine of 


Western Ornithology 


Edited by J. GRINNELL 


‘“ OFFICIAL ORGAN OF THE COOPER ORNITHOLOGICAL CLUB”? 
Volume ro (1908) Better Than Ever 


Half-tones from Life - The Delight of Bird Students and 
Articles by Active Ornithologists Bird Lovers everywhere 
Make-up 


PUBLISHED BI-MONTHLY 
Annual subscription, $1.50, net, in advance. Single copies, 30c. Foreign subscription, $1.75 
J. EUGENE LAW, Business Manager, HOLLYWOOD, CAL. 


NATURALIST 
GRAFLEX 


All the features that make the Graflex Camera 
indispensable to the outdoor photographer are found 
in the Naturalist Graflex. 


The image can be seen full size of negative, 
up to the instant of exposure. 


Equipped with focal-plane shutter giving exposure 
from time to 1/1000 of a second. 


Extra-long draw of bellows for use with Tele- 
photo and other long-focus lenses, in photographing 
distant objects. 


The special construction of the Naturalist Graflex, 
allows the operator to remain concealed while focus- 
ing and making exposure. 


Mr. Frank M. Chapman uses and recommends 
the Graflex Camera. 


Graflex & Graphic Catalog at your dealer’s or, 


FOLMER 6&6 SCHWING DIVISION 
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ROCHE STER,N. Y. 


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for January - February, 1905. 
Address, stating terms, EDITH M. 
BROWER, Secretary, Pratt Institute, 
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LORE now being out of print we will 
publish, free of charge, ‘‘want’’ notices 
similar to the above. 


THE JOURNAL 
OF THE MAINE 
ORNITHOLOGICAL 
SOCIETY 


The roth volume will contain 
articles on Maine birds by the leading 
ornithologists of the state, as well as 
copious bird notes of current interest. 

The issues for the year will be on 
the first of March, June, September 


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Frank T. Noble, Associated, Augusta, Maine 


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TESSAR its great light-gather- 
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THE GUIDE TO NATURE 


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FOUR GREAT SPECIAL NUMBERS 


September, October, November and December, 1908 


SECOND GREAT ENLARGEMENT AND IMPROVEMENT. 
With the June issue, The Guide to Nature commenced its second era 
of three months with so many improvements as to delightfully sur- 
prise every patron. Beginning with the September number, there is another 
decided advance, and the numbers for September, October, November and 
December will eclipse all previous efforts in value and interest to readers. 
There is to be a new and beautiful cover, and many other mechanical 
improvements. We have in hand and there are promised a large number of 
interesting articles and expressive photographs. Several new features which 
we are not free yet to announce are in preparation. ‘The September number 
will surprise and delight. 


It has taken a few months to “‘find ourselves.’’ But we can tolerate the 
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to get under full headway. By the September issue we will have had that time. 


The magazine just as it is in June, July and August is of higher grade 
than any other nature magazine ever published. It fits the present increasing 
interest. We have full confidence that those who know the magazine agree 
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Neither the Prospectus nor any form of announcement can fully portray 
the merits of the magazine. We ask a fair trial and your hearty cooperation. 
Let the magazine speak for itself and let us have the benefit of your suggestion 
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Single copy, J5c. One year, $1.50 


Less than one year at single copy rates, with the exception that to new 
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1. Pua@se, Spring 3. Say’s PH@BE 


2. PuHase, Fall 4. BLack PHBE 


(ONE-HALF NATURAL SIZE) 


Hird= Lore 


A BI-MONTHLY MAGAZINE 
DEVOTED TO THE STUDY AND PROTECTION. OF BIRDS 


OrricitalL ORGAN OF THE AUDUBON Societies 


Vol. X SEPTEMBER—OCTOBER, 1908 No. 5 


A Raven’s Nest 


By FRANCIS H. ALLEN 


HE accompanying picture shows a nest of the Northern Raven (Corvus 
corax principalis), found on Monhegan Island, off the coast of Maine, 
on June 2 of the present year. Though plainly to be seen from the sea 
and from some points on the rocky headlands near it, the nesting-site was hidden 
from most of the neighboring shore, and it was only after a considerable search 
that I succeeded in locating it. The nest was placed in a niche on the side of 
an almost vertical cliff, perhaps forty feet in height, on a minor promontory 
near one of the highest headlands on the eastern coast of the island, the narrow 
shelf on which it rested being about twenty feet from the base of the cliff. Though 
without a rope it was impossible to reach the nest, it could be approached quite 
closely from above, and I found there two young Ravens walking awkwardly 
back and forth on the shelf and in and out of the nest and looking about ner- 
vously. They were apparently full-fledged, but I could not get them to fly. 
Their bills appeared much heavier than Crows’ bills, and the throat feathers 
showed the pointed ends characteristic of the species. They had the yellow 
mouth-corners of young birds. As long as I remained in the neighborhood 
they were silent, and nothing was seen of the parent birds. 

When I visited the nest again, on June 4, the young had flown. Mr. Frederic 
Dorr Steele, who, with a few others, accompanied me, let himself down by a 
rope to the shelf where the nest was situated, and snapped his camera on it 
with one hand while he held on by the rope with the other. He then descended 
the cliff and photographed the nesting-site from below. The nest was composed 
of dead spruce branches without the bark, gathered, doubtless, from the remains 
of a burning near by, and was lined with usnea and sheep’s wool. Wool is, I 
understand, as inevitably found in Ravens’ nests on the Maine coast as the 
snake-skin in the Crested Flycatcher’s nest. In this case it was perhaps a rem- 
nant saved from the time when sheep were kept on the island, a number of years 
ago, or it may have been brought from a distance. 

The next day I spent some time watching the Ravens, both the old birds and 
the young, which lingered in the locality, about the cliffs and in the woods behind 


196 Bird - Lore 


them. The notes of the adults were chiefly a short and not very loud cur-ruk 
or cruk, with a roll to the r, and a somewhat prolonged, loud, hollow-sounding 
croak or cr-r-r-awk, pronounced with the guttural 7, like the sound produced 
in gargling. This latter note can be heard a long way off and is very impressive. 
The tone is entirely different from anything I have ever heard from the common 


A RAVEN’S NEST 
“In a niche on the side of an almost vertical cliff, perhaps forty feet in height.” 
Photographed by Frederic Dorr Steele 


Crow. Sometimes this loud croak was given as three short notes instead of a 
single long one. 

I watched one of the old Ravens sailing about above Black Head in company 
with an Osprey, one bird frequently diving at the other. In these encounters 
the Osprey was commonly the aggressor. The Raven sailed almost as well 


A Raven’s Nest 197 


as the Osprey, though there were intervals of flapping in his flight, while the 
Osprey flapped little, if at all. After the Fish Hawk had departed, two Crows 
appeared and pestered the Raven for a while by swooping at him. The difference 
in size between the two species of Corvus was very apparent. 

While I was watching this bird, the two young came quite near me, one 
alighting on the rocks not far from where I sat concealed behind a young spruce, 
and the other settling in the tops of the woods behind me. The bird on the 
rock walked awkwardly and once gave a hop. Before long he also rose and flew 
to the trees. A short search disclosed first one and then the other. The second, 
when I came upon it, was sitting only five yards from me on a spruce stub. It 
soon flew to the top of a tree near by, and then I had both birds under my eye, 
near each other and near me. They impressed me as being very considerably 
larger than Crows, and, as before, seemed to be fully fledged, though they showed 
the yellow chaps characteristic of young birds. They acted like young puppies, 
moving their heads about aimlessly, and they frequently pecked at the dead 
twigs of the spruces upon which they perched, or took a mouthful of usnea, 
which, I think, was always soon discarded. Once, one of the old birds croaked 
not very far away, whereupon the restless young immediately became quiet, 
but after a time they began to move again, though not so freely as before. I 
waited, hoping that the parents would approach, but they were very wary, and 
I finally had to give it up. The young were absolutely silent, as when I found 
them at the nest. 

There is something romantic and inspiring about the very name of “raven,” 
and a Raven’s nest, especially one built in a more or less inaccessible situation 
on the side of a cliff looking out over the open sea, seemed a particularly inter- 
esting discovery,—more so, indeed, than the nest of some rarer but less famous 
bird would have seemed. So the Duck Hawk, though a fine bird in itself, and 
rare enough to make the first meeting with it an event in a bird-lover’s life, 
becomes still more interesting when we call it a Peregrine Falcon. With these 
sentiments as to the poetic value of a visit to the Raven’s nest, I was somewhat 
taken aback when it came out that one of the small party which accompanied 
me at the time when the pictures were taken, a lady of literary attainments—a 
well-known author in fact—thought she had been to see a Crow’s nest, and that 
a Raven was the same thing as a Crow! For her the name of ‘‘raven” had none 
of the associations which had made its peculiar charm for me. I am bound to 
say, nevertheless, that even in the depth of her ornithological ignorance she 
appeared to enjoy the mildly adventurous element of the excursion, and to ap- 
preciate the rugged beauties of the scene about the Ravens’ home. 


Hummingbird Eccentricities 


By MARY PIERSON ALLEN, Hackettstown, N. J. 


N the last day of May, 1908, I began to watch a Hummingbird’s nest 
() which had been discovered on a maple tree along the main street of our 
town. The first egg was laid on June 3, and the other one on the second 
or third day after. I had understood that the period of incubation was about 
two weeks, and did not look in the nest again until the 18th, when the second 
egg was not yet two weeks old, and behold, no eggs appeared. I was told that 
the nest had been looked at on the r4th, and no eggs were visible then. It would 
appear, therefore, that the birds had hatched only a trifle over a week after the 
second egg was laid. I could only guess at the presence of the little birds at first, 
for the nest was rather inaccessible, but soon the tiny bills began to show when 
the mother came with food. There seemed no danger that they would suffer 
from indigestion or gout, for they were fed very, very seldom. The male, as usual, : 
gave no help to his mate, but she seemed equal to the increasing cares as her 
little ones grew to lusty birds. 

When about three weeks old, one bird left the nest, sitting for hours on 
nearby twigs. For some time the mother fed both of her little ones, then deserted 
the one which was still in the nest. She may have come to grief, but I might be 
more inclined to be charitable had not the older bird left also. 

From about two o’clock in the afternoon on the day when the first one left 
the nest, they were never seen again, and, after the deserted baby had cried 


RUBY-THROATED HUMMINGBIRD’S NEST AND EGGS 


for about twenty-four hours, he got out of the nest and soon fluttered to the ground. 
We offered him sweetened water in a spoon and he drank greedily. He was 
passed over to me and I took him home. His daytime cage was the parlor, where 
he sat by the window on a bit of stick held by a monkey-wrench, or flew about 
the room at will. At night I put his perch in a round food-screen and placed him 


(198) 


Hummingbird Eccentricities 199 


by an upstairs open window. He was exquisitely fearless as he flew to my 
finger to eat honey from a spoon, or fluttered before a petunia into which I 
had poured sweetened water. He had his mother’s zif-zip, which meant flowers 
or happiness, and a plaintive baby peet, peet, when he wanted food. I read up on 
diet and tried various kinds of food. The varieties of bugs which he was sup- 


“FLEW TO MY FINGER TO EAT HONEY FROM A SPOON” 


posed to eat, he scorned, and I tried white of egg as a substitute, but think that 
the sweets agreed with him rather better. The little sprite had over fifty visitors 
from babyhood to old age, and from laboring men to the president of a univer- 
sity, who christened him “Hugo,” possibly with a view to following out the law 
of contrast. He did well from Monday afternoon until Saturday morning, 
when he seemed, for a time, quite poorly. I was frightened about him, and took 
him out-of-doors on his tiny perch. He soon revived and ran his beak into the 
petunias and even flew a little way. 

But now comes the marvelous part of my story. Several days before, I had 
heard of another nest a short distance out of town, and, on visiting it, had found 
a beautiful nest about fifteen feet from the ground. Before I had watched long, 
the dainty house-builder appeared with a bit of plant-down in her beak, and I 
supposed that the structure was not done. She alighted low in the tree and was 
partly hidden by the foliage. When I investigated, I was much surprised to find 
another nest partly built. It was a still greater surprise when I learned that the 
one bird owned both nests. This I could hardly believe until I saw the tiny mother 
go to the first nest and feed her one baby, and then go down and sit on her lower 
nest, which had slender guy-ropes of cobweb, and was only about seven and a 
half feet from the ground. 

But to return to my worse-than-orphaned bird: I made up my mind, after 
he had shown signs of weakening, that I would take him to the mother who 
had but one baby, and, if a miracle came to pass, she might feed him. I flew 
for my horse and drove out of town to the other nesting-site. Little Hugo had 


200 Bird - Lore 


quite returned to his old spirits, but I was afraid to try to keep him longer, and 
so set him free in the beautiful orchard where the little mother had the two nests. 
Her baby had left its nest, but was keeping near home, and when the kind people 
who owned the place, and who helped me in my study in so many ways, cut down 
the nest, it had one tiny, unhatched egg. 

Should any one doubt my veracity when I say that that mother adopted Hugo 
as her own, I could scarcely complain, for had I not been assured by an oculist 
that my eyes are normal, I could scarcely believe it myself. Moreover, the wee 
home-missionary has two eggs now in her lower nest, and, after feeding the 
two babies, goes and sits for a while on those eggs. Think of it,—a mother four 
inches long, with a growing baby, two eggs and a summer boarder to look after! 
On Saturday afternoon I hurried back to Hugo, and spent hours watching the 
little family. It was then that I learned of his adoption. He was very tame, and 
came down to the handle of a spoon I held to drink sweetened water from the 
bowl. I go to see him once or twice a day, and he comes down to eat from the 
spoon each time and even allows me to stroke him. When good Mr. D., who owns 
the orchard, went out this morning, Hugo lit on his hat, and, when his food was 
ready, came again and ate from the spoon. When the eggs hatch, I am anxious 
to see whether the big baby and Hugo, who is about four days older, \will be 
cast on the world, or whether the almost human. little mother will feed all four. 


HUMMER TAKING SWEETENED WATER FROM A FLOWER 


A Mocking Birds June 


By ALBERT V. GOODPASTURE, Nashville, Tenn. 


WENT down to Dudley June 4. When I arrived the pair of Mockingbirds 
| who had preémpted our lawn were looking out for a nesting place—no 

doubt the second of the season, as I was assured the pair in the neighboring 
hedge had already taken off one brood. In the nesting season each pair of Mock- 
ingbirds have their own particular demesne; and, while they do not resent the 
presence of other birds, any trespass by members of their own species is stoutly 
resisted. I witnessed more than one battle between our Mockers and a pair 
who hailed from the direction of the orchard, before their title to the lawn was 
acknowledged. 

Being finally in peaceable possession, on June 6 they commenced building 
their nest in a solitary cedar, six or seven feet tall, that had grown up against 
the fence in the meadow; on the near side of the fence was the road that skirts 
the margin of the woodlawn. The nest was placed just at the height of the top 
plank—four feet seven inches from the ground. As a rule the Mockingbird 
builds her nest in a solitary bush or small tree, preferably by the roadside, or 
near the house, only a few feet from the ground; rarely more than ten or twelve, 
and frequently not above four or five. Last summer a pair built and successfully 
hatched and reared their young in some peach tree sprouts, only four feet from 
the ground, and so close to the road that every carriage that passed brushed 
against the branches that supported the nest. 

Both birds labored diligently in constructing the nest. The materials for 
their work were close at hand; they found most of them in the road by the fence. 
There was nice dry grass and straw in the meadow, but they preferred the with- 
ered weeds and exposed roots along the roadside, some of which they detached 
with considerable difficulty. In gathering their materials they ran along the 
ground a short distance, halted, daintily elevated their wings, and leisurely 
closed them; then off again until they had found what they wanted. Lighting 
on the fence with their burdens, they entered the cedar from the left, and emerged 
from the right, resting again on the fence before starting for fresh materials. 
Sometimes as one entered the other came out, giving the appearance of the same 
bird passing entirely through the bush; indeed, when I first observed them, 
I could not tell for a time whether only one or both birds were engaged. In this 
way they prosecuted their labor for two days, beginning before six o’clock, 
the earliest hour at which I visited them, and continuing until sundown. 

In the meantime they had many visits from other birds. If one of them 
approached the nest too closely they courteously gave him to understand he was 
intruding; they were never violent or noisy, but always appeared firm, digni- 
fied, and confident. They took no notice of a Meadowlark singing on the fence 
several panels away; nor of a Brown Thrasher, which, next to the Mockingbird, 
is the most brilliant songster we have at Dudley; though we never hear him 


(201) 


202 Bird - Lore 


except in the early spring. A Flicker quietly pluming himself on the adjoining 
panel to the left of the nest, caused them little anxiety; though I observed they 
now began entering the cedar on the right instead of the left. The matter became 
really serious, however, when another Flicker appeared on the scene, and took 
his position on the right. A Mocker mounted a post between the new comer 
and the nest, and mildly scolded him, The Flicker, who is a humorous bird 
as well as a goodnatured one, seemed to enjoy his embarrassment. He 
moved down to the post, and hopping round it until he faced the Mocker, play- 
fully bantered him. Apparently realizing his ridiculous position, after a mo- 
ment the Mocker disappeared in the cedar, and the Flickers flew away to a nearby 
telegraph post, where they had a nest just four feet above that of a Red-headed 
Woodpecker. Once a Wood Pewee, who had her dainty little lichen-covered 
nest in a post-oak across the road, attacked a Blue Jay and drove him over 
to the neighborhood of the Mockingbirds, who, making him the poe exception 
to their quiet bearing, furiously chased him back. 

Like all poetic natures the Mockingbird is a creature of intense emotions, 
and the grace and enthusiasm with which he gives them expression is charming. 
As I watched the nest on the afternoon of the seventh, I witnessed a beautiful 
scene. The female was standing very quietly on the fence by the nest, looking 
wistful and pensive. I could not guess the cause. Presently the male appeared. 
Instantly she was all animation. As he came floating in, she flew out to meet 
him—not far, perhaps three or four feet—and then, in a flutter of delight, she 
moved backward with him to the fence. Perhaps she was telling him that she 
had given the last finishing touches to their nest. 

The next morning I heard him singing on the telegraph wire, and when 
I went to the nest I found she had laid in it a little greenish blue egg, speckled 
with brown; and each succeeding day she laid another, until there were four. 
And how jealously they guarded them! One or the other was constantly on 
the lookout. The male spent much of his time in song, but he never sang near 
the nest, though it was seldom out of his sight. The female was its special guard- 
ian. If one approached the nest, instantly she appeared and anxiously questioned 
his movements with her bright, intelligent eyes. I do not think she regarded me 
as an enemy, though I daily examined her eggs and young, as I have done in 
other nests, to contradict in my own experience the old myth, which some people 
still believe, that the Mockingbird will destroy her eggs, or poison her young, 
if handled in the nest. Her nest was midway on the line of travel between the 
telegraph pole of the Flicker and Red-headed Woodpecker and the woodlawn 
by the house. In passing they often halted on the fence near it. In such cases, 
she promptly placed herself between the intruder and the nest. When a black 
cat passed up the road, there was real cause for anxiety; but she did not attack 
him, as we have been taught she would. She quietly followed him along the fence 
until he had passed the nest. By the time they had reached it, in some way a hue 
and cry had been raised, and a multitude of birds, Bronzed Grackles, English 


A Mocking Bird’s June 203 


Sparrows, Blue Jays and our ever watchful little Wood Pewee, joined in the 
chase, and, raised such a clamor that the cat stopped and looked up, but find- 
ing none of them in his reach, moved leisurely on. 

On June 12 the female began to sit. The male did not assist her in the incu- 
bation, and was not often near the nest. Once I saw him watching on the fence- 
post while she was away, but when she returned and entered the nest he flew 
off to the telegraph wire and renewed his song. He now abandoned himself 
to his art. He frequently shifted his position from one elevated perch to another, 
such as the comb of the barn, the telegraph wire, the tops of isolated maples, 
and, occasionally, the fence, making a wide circuit from the nest, but keeping 
it constantly in view. While his song may have been inspired by the poetic 
purpose of cheering his sitting mate, I am sure he did not lose sight 
of the practical effect it might have in alluring his enemies away from her nesting 
place. 

After an incubation of ten days, the young Mockers were hatched on the 22d. 
The father then ceased his song; he was too busy to sing; he joined actively 
with the mother in feeding the young. And how happy they were! I watched 
their first rejoicings with the greatest interest. How he petted and praised her! 
In return she showed him the little pledges of their love. Preceding him to the 
nest, she hovered over the little fellows, and glided lightly and noiselessly out. 
Then he entered, remained but a moment, and rejoined her on the fence. Now 
they dropped from the top plank of the fence to the next lower, and the third; 
and glided in and out among the lower branches of the small cedar that con- 
tained their nest. 

Under the active ministrations of the parent birds, the young Mockers grew 
bravely until they were five days old. The succeeding night, the moon 
being at its full, was bright and luminous almost as the day. In the stillness of 
the night—I do not know the hour—the old gray cat left her kittens under the 
cabin and prowled out in the moonlight to see what she could find. She passed 
through the woodlawn into the meadow. By some unhappy instinct or accident, 
she found her way to the little cedar by the fence . Her feet were wet with dew. 
She crossed back through the fence into the dusty road, and stopped directly 
under the nest. How she knew it was there I cannot guess, unless the black 
cat told her. At any rate she suspected the truth. She leaped to the second plank 
from the bottom of the fence; the sharp claws of her front feet caught in the upper 
edge of the plank, and the dew-wet dust left the full round mark of her hind 
feet just under them on the side of the plank. At this moment the anxiety and 
alarm of the devoted mother must have been intense. But her suspense was 
short. The cat mounted straight up; the fence shows her claws on the upper 
edge, and her feet on the side of the third and of the top plank. The mother still 
covers her young. The cat now makes her spring. She was but twelve inches 
from the nest and might have crept to it, but the gray fur left on the cedar twigs 
show the suddenness and violence of her movement. There was no possible 


204 Bird - Lore 


escape for the young, but did the cat get the mother? I asked myself that ques- 
tion twenty times the next day. 

When I arose next morning the male was singing gloriously from the top- 
most twig of the spruce pine by the garden. I had never heard him sing so 
sweetly. The Mockingbird is a musical genius the brilliancy of whose perform- 
ance is beyond my power of description. The most obvious charms of his song, 
however, are the infinite variety and range of his round, full, distinct notes, 
and the rapidity and enthusiasm with which he trills his marvelous medley, 
composed of his own native notes, intermingled with the songs of all the other 
birds of his acquaintance. Four observations of his song, taken at different times, 
will convey some idea of his performance: (1) In ten minutes he changed his 
song of from one to four notes, forty-six times, and repeated each from one to 
nine times—on an average 3.41 times. (2) In three minutes he changed his 
song twenty-eight times, repeated each from one to nine times—average four 
times. (3) In one minute he changed thirteen times, repeated from one to nine 
times—average 6.3 times. (4) In ten minutes he changed 137 times, repeated 
from one to twelve times—average 3.18 times. His song, however, is little more 
remarkable than the grace and elegance of his form and movements. His wings 
rest lightly against his person, but do not hang, as the Catbird’s sometimes 
do; his tail swings loose, but never droops. A light gust of wind will sometimes 
carry wings and tail above his body, but he readjusts them with perfect grace. 
His buoyancy is quite astonishing. He is so light and airy that he appears an 
ethereal being—the spirit of song. When he mounts aloft in the ecstacy of his 
song, there is no perceptible movement in the small twig on which he stood; 
he never uses it as a spring-board, like the Blue Jay, for instance, who shakes 
the whole tree-top when he leaves. He mounts with his wings, makes graceful 
convolutions in his song-flight, returns to the place he left, poises himself in the 
air, reaches down his feet and takes hold of the slender twig without the slight- 
est jar. He never misses his hold, nor loses his balance. I have seen him bound 
aloft, float backward, downward, and inward to his original perch, describing 
a complete vertical circle, without changing the direction of his body. He con- 
tinued his song at intervals all day, flitting restlessly from place to place, 
greatly enlarging his range, but never going near the desolated nest. 

His mate turned up on the 27th, and entered energetically on the building 
of a new nest. She had suffered no other physical damage from the night’s 
adventure than a broken feather—one of the beautiful white exterior feathers 
of the tail. 

Concluding, I summarize the labors of our Mockingbirds for the man of 
records: 


Building fae aise ae, ae [NERO = 7k eee oe yee 2 days 
TAY No yes are see any ee ieee ee Junete— tte. eee. se eee 4 days 
Dine iain oes ees eee ee gee ge ae Une nee SS eee eee to days 
Care of young ia. Sees Jumes22=20)5 40:4 a= ater 5 days 
Mating for new brood.......-- UME 2 7B cc sos ois steeper 1 day 


Building, 2s. eee ‘Pune’ 25-20) t).2 [ocean ee eeuaye ‘ 


The Growth of Young Black - billed Cuckoos 


By A. A. SAUNDERS, New Haven, Conn. 


N June 12, 1907, a friend informed me that he had found the nest of a 
() Black-billed Cuckoo. I visited it a few days later. The nest was in an 
elder bush, on the bank of a stream, and about five feet from the ground. 
It contained only two eggs, but, as they had already been there several days, 
I decided that this was the whole set. I was rather surprised at this, as a nest 
I had found the previous season had contained four eggs. A few days later I 
found another Black-bill’s nest, also with but two eggs. At both of these nests 
I noticed that the bird often sat in a curious position, with her head thrown back 
and her bill pointing almost vertically toward the sky. 

At my first visit to the first of these nests, on June 25, I found that the eggs 
had hatched. The egg-shells had not been removed, but were in the bottom 
of the nest, broken into small pieces. The young Cuckoos were very curious- 
looking. Their skin was dull black and their bills and feet bluish black. In 
place of the patches of down 
found on young passerine 
birds, they were clothed with 
coarse white hairs evenly dis- 
tributed over the body. They 
were evidently several days 
old, as their eyes were already 
beginning to open. They were 
very sleepy in their actions 
and resented handling with a 
curious, grunting sound. 

During the next few days I 
visited them frequently. Their 


YOUNG BLACK-BILLED CUCKOO, 
JUNE 30, 7.30 A. M. eyes opened wider and the 


Photographed by A. A. Saunders : : 
as . : white hairs grew longer, and 


at the base of each one a closely sheathed feather appeared. Unlike most young 
birds, they were very inactive during the morning, but became quite lively toward 
evening. At such times, when I approached, they stretched their necks to the 
utmost, opening and shutting their beaks and making hissing and grunting 
sounds. At such times they exhibited another peculiar mark. The lining of the 
mouth was bright red, and on the roof of it were one or two large, white spots. 
On the morning of June 30, one of them was greatly changed in appearance. 
‘The feathers of the back and breast had broken through the sheaths and only 
those of the head and throat still remained unbroken. The other bird still had 
all the feathers sheathed. I placed them on a nearby limb and took their picture. 
They were much easier to handle than most young birds, but were very stiff and 
awkward in their poses. When the picture was taken, I put them back in the 


(205) 


206 Bird - Lore 


nest and they settled down as though nothing unusual had happened. I was 
anxious to watch the sudden transformation which young Cuckoos undergo 
just before leaving the nest, so I visited them again that day at about 6 P. M. 
The older bird had left the 
nest and was nowhere to be 
found. The feathers were 
beginning to unsheath on 
the back and wings of the 
younger bird. I took the 
second picture of the bird in 
this condition. 

The! ynext, mor ndniy bd 
reached the nest by 6 o’clock, 
certain that great changes 
had taken place overnight. 
As I approached the nest, the 


7oung bird hopped out of his 
y 5 PP M YOUNG BLACK-BILLED CUCKOO, 
own accord. I was much sur- TUE ao ate 


prised to see that there had ERS SEARS io ELS 
been no apparent change in the bird’s plumage.. I took another picture never- 
theless, and, as the young bird refused to go back to the nest, left it perching on 
a convenient twig. At 9g o’clock that morning I visited the nest again, with two 
friends, who wished to get pictures of the bird. We soon found him near where 
I had placed him; though not on the same twig. The feathers of the back and 
breast were nearly all un- 
sheathed. Apparently the 
process of the breaking of 
the feathers, which had 
begun the previous after- 
noon had been arrested 
over night and continued 
again in the morning. This 
suggests the thought that 
perhaps light or heat is 
necessary for this process. 
The change in the be- 
havior of the young Cuckoo 


YOUNG BLACK-BILLED CUCKOO, JULY 1, 9 a-™. was equal to that in his 
Photographed by D. B. Pangburn appearance. Instead of 


posing stiffly and awkwardly before the camera, he had no intention of posing at 
all. Though unable to fly, he would edge rapidly along the branch on which we 
placed him, till he neared another, to which he would jump. He was wonder- 
fully acrobatic and, once in the bushes, jumped and climbed rapidly. 


Chestnut-sided Warbler—A Study 


By MARY C. DICKERSON 
With photographs by the author 


, \HE nest was two feet from the ground, in a viburnum bush, and was 
owned by an atom of bird-life, a Chestnut-sided Warbler, who was in 
possession at the moment. She made a charming picture on the nest, 

her yellow cap, above her bright black eyes, shining like gold in the sun. This 

Chestnut-sided Warbler was a trustful bird and did not move till the enemy 

was fairly upon her, when she stretched up her head and was gone so silently 

and swiftly that it was impossible to tell how she went, or where. 
Immediately she appeared on the branches above the nest, flying out for 
an insect here, cleaning her bill yonder, inspecting this branch, then that, but 


CHESTNUT-SIDED WARBLER BROODING 


all of the time keeping an eager eye on the doings of the enemy. Her behavior 
had the effect of drawing attention to herself and thus away from the nest. 
With sides shining blood-red, with the golden cap and a white throat, and with 
a bright, quick grace of motion, she was inspiring enough to lure any eye from 
a mere nest of speckled eggs—notwithstanding the fact that these eggs were 
exquisite in their delicacy of shape and color, slightly tinted with cream, and 
speckled with brown at the larger end (if it is possible to use that comparative 
with anything so small). 

Among birds all of the main acts connected with rearing the young are 
instinctive, of course. But really how wonderful is this blind giving up of freedom 
by a wild bird. She sits patiently and without nervousness minute after minute, 
half hour after half hour, fully alert, hearing everything, seeing everything, 
yet letting the insects fly past uncaught, and her mate chase and hunt and sing 


(207) 


208 Bird - Lore 


without her. How strong must be the prompting that enables a bird to control 
her impulse to action, when she receives continually the sensations which have 
hitherto been inseparable from action. There is no vacillating in instinctive 
action. Nature holds to strict unquestioning obedience with a death penalty 
for disobedience. 

The Warbler is back in her place. The nest is sheltered peculiarly well 
by the low wiburnums and the stone wall. There is not a breath of wind there, 
when the trees and shrubs in the open are swaying vigorously. A Song Sparrow 
sings from the stone wall; a Black and White Warbler is continually seesawing 
its notes at the edge of the woods; a White-eyed Vireo calls emphatically from 
a near tangle of green; Swifts circle and chatter above her; these are all pleasant 
or indifferent sounds in her ears,—at least she does not stir. At the barking of 
a dog in the woods she breathes faster and erects the feathers of her crown, 
but still sits close. 

Her mate seldom goes far from the nest. He wanders among surrounding 
trees and shrubs catching a fly or gnat here, a caterpillar yonder, on and back, 
this way and that, as a child might wander, attracted now by a ripe strawberry, 
now by a beautiful flower, shade or a convenient path. And he sings continually, 
even as he snaps up a passing insect and while balancing himself on a wind- 
swept branch. To human ears his song is much like that of the Redstart who 
is nesting near, but he puts the strong accent on the next to the last note, while 
the Redstart makes the final note emphatic. 

When twilight comes a Chestnut-sided Warbler on the nest is remarkably 
well protected. In fact, the nest looks empty to the most observing eyes. Details 
of the surrounding vegetation may stand out with considerable clearness but 
the nest is empty—one can see that the sides curve downward and the bottom, 
quite destitute of eggs, shows distinctly. It is difficult to believe that the bird 
is there. The streaked feathers of the back and wings of the bird seem to be 
the grasses at the bottom of the nest, while the bird’s gay-colored head is tucked 
under her wing for the night, or if not, it blends with the nest’s rim. 

Later when the eggs are hatched (thirteen days after the laying of the first 
egg) and the Chestnut-sided Warbler is brooding the young, there comes many 
a struggle between the maternal instinct of the bird and her fear instinct. When 
an enemy discovers the nest and she is forced to leave, she may flutter to the 
ground and feign a broken wing, dragging her minute self about in a pathetic 
fashion. Finding that this is not effective, she may return to the immediate 
vicinity of the nest. Here she sits on a small branch beside the nest. Talk to her 
and her fear increases, yet she will not leave. Twice she nearly falls from her 
perch, toppling forward and regaining position again. She is ‘charmed’ in the 
same manner that a bird is said to be ‘charmed’ by a snake; that is, the snake 
has done nothing, but the bird is a slave to its own fear. 

While she is thus occupied her mate comes to the nest three times, at each 
visit bringing a bill full of tiny green caterpillars. 


Chestnut-sided Warbler—A Study 209 


Be warned to keep from a Chestnut-sided Warbler’s nest after the young 
birds are a few days old, for they seem to possess an unusual nervous irritability 
and gain the fear instinct at an unusually early period. They become frantic 
at any disturbance, even when the feathers extend from their tubes so little that 
the birds seem covered with minute camel’s hair brushes, at a time when most 
nestlings have an undisturbed, dignified manner because knowing nothing of 
fear. They leap from the nest and even if caught and returned are likely to refuse 
to stay. Perhaps all Chestnut-sided Warblers do not gain the fear instinct as 
early as did those of three broods observed (instead of only one to three days 
before flight). But if they do, it would seem that here natural selection has a 
handle by which to keep the ranks of this species well reduced. 


ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAK AND NEST 
Photographed by F. E. Howe. Sterling, Ill. 


The Migration of Flycatchers 


SIXTH PAPER 


Compiled by Professor W. W. Cooke, Chiefly from Data 
in the Biological Survey 


With Drawings by Louris AcaAssiz FuERTES and BrucE HorRSFALL 


PHOEBE 


The Phoebe winters in the Gulf States from Florida to Texas, and, occa- 


sionally, north to the Potomac and Ohio valleys. 


Hence, no dates of spring 


migration are available until the northern part of the winter home is reached. 


SPRING MIGRATION 


| Number 
PLACE of years’ 
| record | 
La Wallet yaMiall sigan sane eae ee eee ae | T5 
INewe Market aViates yee ee ee 16 
— Washington sl) Crt eee ewig oe 20 
Bed verssbas Ses ees ene eee | Ui 
Philadelphia, Bas: (near)ee aes we || 2 
RenOyoR aii See eet ek se eres | 12 
New iProvidences Naiiiesete se 10 eal 8 
Englewood? Nica). anaes is lee oe (eee 
Ballsten, Spa, Ne Vie ee | 
ParadoxiaNe Vinee © 2/5 ie, Soin hs re | Bil 
Jewett: City; (@onns see eee ara Se | 17 
Hartford Conner | 16 
Beverly ssMia coats :.se ue a aay a Boge ee 5 
CharlotteVi sas sea eee ts oe eee cea 12 
St. Johnshiny Were ee se eee 9 
Hanover, oNisie2 22 tt ache en 9 
Monadnock Ne gHe- eee eee z 
Southwestern Maine =)2-.2.5-e-05. <2) 16 
MontrealiCanadas=. ase ee eee 6 
Scotch iaalke; Nini: ie eee sien e ! 2 
Bubanlkg ey ige as Se ee eee eee 6 
St aowis Mion Se): Semester ens Sep ante ) 5 
Independence, Mio: 2- ae. oe 6 
Od taps ct ree 5 ie 2k Fe Sn oe 8 
Chiedeo; HIPS 2. tee. Cee 16 
Rockford secure eae: eee 7 
Brookyillegind-4- soe. ae cee 5 
Bloomington; sinds: ce 22% sea “Saeiee. ) 8 
Waterloo;sindss(nean)ea> sees ee ate 
Oberlin’g Oreo wee, Sapa enue. Or Nie 8 
Petersbume.y Michiel < scares) eevee 9 
Plymouthy Minot... do east) eee | 6 
Southwestern Ontario.....2.-5..002.4 eb 68 
Strathroy;"Ont-.oe0 see eee See 12 
Ottawa, Ont. 020. os ea 17 
Manhattan, (Kan. 9.200 eee em | 10 
ODA GA, Wea circ tele pee il 13 
Keoki Way Ah, oes Se eee ae ee ee Io 
“Grinnell, Wane nj] oe eee 5 
lowa'City, Taxes’. ese ee eee 13 


Average date of 


spring arrival 


Earliest date of 
spring arrival 


SS 


March 3 
March 16 
March 13 
March 23 
March 23 
“March 26 
March 19 
March 21 
March 31 
April 4 
March 24 
March 25 
March 23 
April 1 
April 2 
April 2 
March 26 
April 6 
April 17 
April 19 
BKebw2yie 
March 16 
March 13 
March 16 
March 22 
March 21 
March 11 
March 15 
March 19 
March 20 
March 16 
March 21 
March 30 
April 1 
April 7 
March 22 
March 22 
March 20 
March 19 
March 23 


Rare, winter. —— 
March 9g, 1892 — 
February 23, 1902 —— 
March 15, 190% 
January 23, 1894 
March 15, 1898 
March 8, 1894 
March 13, 1894 
March 20, 1902 
March 31, 1888 
March 15, 1902 
March 13, 1898 
March 12, 1898 
March 23, 1897 
March 22, 1902 
March 31, 1889 
March 22, 1903 
March 24, 1905 
April 10, 1887 
April 18, 1907 
February 13, 1890 
March 3, 1882 
March 11, 1902 
March 3, 1894 
March 12, 1904 
March 12, 1889 
March 1, 1881 
March 2, 1893 
March 11, 1887 
March 14, 1903 
March tro, 1894 
March 17, 1894 
March 20, 1903 
March 19, 1903 
March 26, 1907 
March 14, 1885 
March 13, 1893 
March 12, 1893 
February 27, 1885 
March 1, 1882 


_ 


(210) 


The Migration of Flycatchers 211 


SPRING MIGRATION, continued 


“Number Aver . 
PLACE at yenes?” | Areinge die of |" Matiien date ot 
DOULNEDM WWISCONSIN- cer. a. ss == 4. = 19 March 27 March 18, 1894 
ihanesporo, MUNI. &.25:-/c).s4/s ok ee To) March 27 March 22, 1889 
Minted NOs elites ets) oeiies-roeiache = 13 April 5 March 22, 1907 
Hdamonton, Alberta .@: ...<)...un2s a. April 19, 1897 
Fort Simpson, Mackenzie............ May 14, 1904 


The Phoebe does not breed in Florida and the last birds left northern Florida 
on the average, March 17, latest April 1, 1887; Kirkwood, Ga., latest April 5, 
1902; Raleigh, N. C., average, April 7, latest, April 16, 1887; New Orleans, La., 
average, March 30, latest, April 26. On the return in the fall, they first appeared, 
at Raleigh, N. C., average, September 29, earliest, September 26, 1889; northern 
Florida, average, October 4; earliest, September 28, 1903; southern Mississippi, 
average, October 7; earliest, September 1, 1903; New Orleans, La., average, 
October 9g; earliest, September 25, 1897. 


FALL MIGRATION 


Number | f 
PLACE ee ego | aires 
IDRC oxeToL, MMT, eS ee oS eee eo cere 7 October 7 | October 13, 1898 
mae ae AIS cistie amb one fore a'/a. iets toes 5: 5 lm @ctober m7 October 17, 1906: 
Oita CO) iitempenseninnes vets oesnaicee en ereoen 9 October 2 | October 10, 1905 
Southwestern /Ontarloss...5.-+....-- 9 October 4 October 15, 1889 
Chicaco mM ee re .nieeeeioris nS och ane 4 October 8 | November 10; 1906 
Oberlin -OmG 2 ee os. int eo ee as 4 October 5 | October 19, 1906 
WiaISe one sO@MO ss sce cise 2 oie acieic elses 6 October 8 October 27, 1890 
Waterloo lind se (mear)> asec - eae 6 October g | October 28, 1889 
GentiialplOwagre = oie oe ate ae ee 12 | October 15 October 28, 1905 
SCRIOMISHEMIG ees assis te eee | October 27, 1885 
AihenSPeletinkn rer vos nie acess adyae os 5 | November 16 Rare, winter 
SCOLCHMIBAING Mrs Diu aig et 2) Mageatew cs ae October 8, 1900 
Montreal Canada... soemee eee 3. | September 26 | October 8, 1888 
Southwestern Maine. 2. . 222. )/ais ate. 26°, || "Qetober 9 October 19, 1895 
Providemeey. Ins Wesco eka se eee ee 4 October 9g October 27, 1gor 
Mantiond Contes. 2 2.2 see asses 4 October 11 October 30, 1g00 
BnclewoodweNinel: ss.ce sete cer ten coe - 4 October 19 October 25, 1905 
INewabrovidenceyoNe\p-cee ese eels 6 | October 21 November 5, 1892 
INGiiwenoy JH ae eee e pte as anaes = Io October ro October 18, 1894 
Benvwayoee asset eit. <f iae oerseesietee ies 4] October 18 October 31, 1889 
Beavers Daca wae 0 oho herent eens 5 October 18 October 21, 1889 
Sort. Was mimmigme MGs Joes 2c arto tele 8-. | e@etober 17, December 31, 1883 
Hrenchu@reelks We Wale. 0202 soe esten 4 ‘October 15 October 21, 1890 


SAY’S PHOEBE 


Say’s Pheebe is resident throughout a large part of its range, including western 
Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and much of California. A few notes have been 
contributed on the migratory individuals. 


212 Bird - Lore 


SPRING MIGRATION 


Number f 
, A date of Earliest date of 
PLACE ok ears onae: aiival soni attivell 
Chelan Washthiaercr > oscars eae Macrh 17, 1896 
Okanagon Landing, B. C........-...- March 29, 1906 
Northern Colorado ...............-. a April March 20, 1907 
7 prul 5 i 997 
Cheyenne a Wiy.O sees ee eae 2 April 9 April 7, 1889 
‘Perry, Mont: sho ss.0 cise ee eee 5 April 18 April 5, 1896 
Edmonton, Alberta (near)......--.-- April 22, 1903 
Athabaska Landing, Alberta.......-. ’ May 5, 1901 
Fort Simpson, Mackenzie ........--- May 4, 1904 


BLACK PHOEBE 


This Flycatcher is, for the most part, non-migratory, and ranges in western 
North America from Mexico and lower California, north to southern Oregon 
and east to central Texas. 


FLORIDA BLUE JAY 
Photographed by Frank M. Chapman, at Gainesville, Florida 


Hotes from Field and Stunp 


Notes on the Varied Thrush at Everett, 
Washington 


The Varied Thrushes are among the 
most characteristic birds of a Puget Sound 
winter. Many a rainy day is made less 
dreary by their bright presence and their 
peculiar song, for these birds, unlike most 
of our winter residents, sing more or less 
freely throughout their stay—a _ habit 
which, according to Mr. Lord’s book, is 
not shared by the Varied Thrushes win- 
tering in Oregon. 

These Thrushes arrive in Everett about 
the middle of September. Sometimes the 
first intimation we have of their arrival 
is the sound of their odd song, which sets 
our nerves thrilling and our hearts re- 
joicing in eager welcome. But more often 
we first come upon a flock of them scratch- 
ing in a wood path, among the fallen 
leaves, their handsome plumage harmon- 
izing so well with the fall landscape that 
they seem the very spirit of September. 
When thus disturbed, they show _ little 
fear. They fly deliberately to the alder 
trees overhead, alighting on the larger 
branches. Occasionally one shows his 
interest by uttering a low, soft puk as we 
pass, but usually the whole flock is silent, 
watching the intruders with a calm dig- 
nity worthy of their family. If, however, 
we attempt a familiarity inconsistent with 
Thrush etiquette, they withdraw to the 
privacy of the tall fir trees which they love. 

The Varied Thrushes eat alder and 
other seeds, and insects uncovered in 
their scratching; also crumbs and refuse 
about the dooryards. Winter before last, 
during an unusually heavy snowfall of 
eight inches, the Thrushes were regular 
visitors at our grain table and became 
quite tame, showing no alarm when we 
passed within a few feet of them. This 
same snowstorm, which killed so many 
birds in all the northern states, may have 
caused the death of many Varied Thrushes 
less fortunate than our visitors, for last 


winter the birds were more scarce than 
they have been for years. They disap- 
peared from our neighborhood altogether 
in November and did not return until 
February 15, and since then they been 
seen only singly, or in twos or threes. 

In the southern part of Washington, the 
Varied Thrushes mingle freely with the 
Robins, which winter there in large num- 
bers. In some parts of the state they are 
summer residents. I have seen them in 
July in the Cascade mountains, at an 
elevation of about 600 feet, and have 
heard their song in August at the snow- 
line, 8,000 feet above sea-level. During 
the summer of 1906, the song was often 
heard in the fir forest near Everett at tide- 
water, but we were unable to discover 
whether or not the birds nested there. 

Mr. Fuertes has described the song of 
the Varied Thrush as he heard it in Alaska. 
He says it is ‘‘ most unique and mysterious, 
and may be heard in the deep, still spruce 
forests for a great distance, being very 
loud and wonderfully penetrating. It is 
a single, long-drawn note, uttered in sey- 
eral different keys, some of the high- 
pitched ones with a strong, vibrant trill. 
Each note grows out of nothing, swells to 
a full tone, and then fades away to noth- 
ing, until one is carried away by the mys- 
terious song.” 

We hear the song very frequently through 
the fall and winter months, but it is not so 
musical at that time as is the singing of 
the spring season. The birds sing often 
at sunset and occasionally through the 
busy hours of daylight, but seem to love 
best the early morning hours, singing to 
perfection in the first gray light of dawn. 
It matters not to them whether the air 
be clear and frosty, or heavy with rain and 
fog. The call is repeated from one tall 
fir top to another, sometimes clear and 
high-pitched, sometimes low, but always 
with that indescribable quality which 
“makes one thrill with a strange feeling,” 
to quote Mr. Fuertes. It seems to express 


(213) 


214 


a strange mingling of the most profound 
sadness with perfect triumph. The song 
varies greatly in quality, even in the same 
individual. When heard close at hand, 
it is somewhat disappointing. It seems to 
resolve itself inte discordant elements and 
to produce almost a grating sound. This 
is especially true of the lower notes. One 
bird, singing for half an hour from the top 
of a tall, dead cedar, about 250 feet dis- 
tant, gave the amusing impression of a 
vocalist practising a difficult lesson. Some- 
times the notes rang out high, clear and 
thrilling; sometimes they were low and 
guttural, with a strong vibration strangely 
like the croak of a frog. Very often the 
singer would cut the low notes short, as 
if in disgust at his own performance; then, 
after a pause, would follow with a note 
much higher and clearer. Some of the 
notes were held as long as two seconds, 
but most of them about a second and a 
half, some of the low notes being broken 
short off almost as soon as begun. The 
intervals between the notes were occupied 
by the singer mainly in preening his 
feathers— Mrs. STEPHEN V. THAYER, 
Everett, Wash. 


Nest-Building in August 


I witnessed a performance, week before 
last, which seemed to me most unusual, 
although, to many of your readers who 
are more familiar with the habits of birds 
than I am, it may not seem at all uncom- 
mon. The fourth of this month (August) 
a friend visiting at my summer home said 
she had seen a pair of Robins building a 
nest in a black-thorn bush near the house, 
’ and that she had put some pieces of white 
and colored worsted in the grass which 
the birds had evidently found good build- 
ing material, as they had carried it all off 
during the day. Early the next morning 
I went out to see if they were still pre- 
paring for housekeeping, and there they 
were, busily at work gathering bits of 
straw, dried stems of nasturtiums, etc., 
and taking them up to their nest, which, 
upon inspection, I found to be, apparently, 
completed on the outside. Wishing to 


(0(q , We™ 


Bird - Lore 


help them along, I got several pieces of 
cotton twine and put them in the grass, 
and almost before I could resume my seat 
on the piazza, the female gathered them 
up all at once. I said they were building; 
I should have said the female was, as the 
male sat about on a nearby tree, illus- 
trating the song that “‘everybody works 
but father,’’ and occasionally dropping 
to the ground to gather in an early worm, 
which he greedily devoured. He had a 
having- been-out- all-night appearance, 
which I attributed to his probably under- 
going the process of molting. The female 
was evidently in the same condition, al- 
though, like a much higher order of the 
animal kingdom, she had spruced up as 
much as possible under the circumstances, 
and looked quite neat and trim, compared 
to her lazy husband. After giving her a 
long piece of twine (about ten feet), which 
she gathered up without any difficulty, 
I thought I would have a little fun with 
her, so I tied a nail to another piece of 
twine and watched her try to separate 
them. Finding she could not do that, she 
took the twine, nail and all up to her nest, 
but afterward discarded it and it dangled 
froma lower branch. Knowing her time 
was valuable, and not wishing to interrupt 
her domestic plans any further, I got a lot 
more worsted and spread it out on the 
grass, but to my surprise she ignored it 
altogether, and continued to collect straws 
and stems. I then got some straw for her, 
but when I came out from breakfast, all of 
my last contribution remained untouched, 
and when I looked again, two hours later, 
the whole project of nest-building seemed 
to have been abandoned and the birds 
I thought had gone for good. The bush 
was in full view of the kitchen windows, 
and the servants, who had taken great 
interest in the nest, told me several days 
later they had not seen the birds since. 
I began to think that I had maligned the 
male bird and that while he had no ob- 
jection to his wife’s amusing herself build- 
ing a nest, his indifference was due to his 
superior judgment in considering it foolish 
to start a nest so late in the season. 

This morning (August 23), nineteen 


Notes from Field and Study 


days since I saw the bird at work, I thought 
I would take down the nest and see what 
disposition she had made of the colored 
worsted. When I went to the black-thorn 
bush, I was much surprised to see a Robin’s 
tail protruding over the edge of the nest 
and a few minutes later, when the female 
left, the male appeared with a bill full of 
worms and proceeded to feed some young 
birds whose heads I could see and who 
appeared to be two or three days old. I 
have looked at the nest several times since 
I thought she had abandoned it, and have 
never seen any sign of her, although I 
have seen the male bird often in other 
parts of the garden; yet she slipped in 
quietly and unobserved, finished her nest, 
laid her eggs and is now, the last of Au- 
gust, beginning to rear her little ones.— 
ALEXANDER PopE, Hingham, Mass. 


Protecting Young Birds from the Cats 


It is little use for bird-lovers to meet 
and pass resolutions if they are going to 
allow an army of cats to eat up three- 
fourths or more of the song birds that are 
hatched. 

The time when the domestic cat accom- 
plishes her most terribly effective work 
is in the early summer when the young 
birds are unable to fly more than a few 
feet at a time and are easily picked up, 
either night or day. Mr. O. A. Stemple, 
of Clearwater, Fla., has, however, evolved 
a scheme which promises to save many 
of the young, if bird-lovers will only put 
it in practice. It is simply this: Catch 
the young birds and put them into a 
clean flour barrel standing in the shade 
of a tree near enough to the house to be 
easily watched. Leave it open at the top 
and put in food and a shallow dish of 
fresh water with the young birds. The 
parents will soon find and feed them, 
and when they are able to fly upward and 
out of the barrel, they will take care of 
themselves. Of course, they must be 
watched by day and securely covered at 
night until they are strong enough to fly 
out of their place of refuge. 

We had an exciting episode here yes- 


215 


terday with a family of young Cardinals. 
The ambitious little things were out of 
the nest and unable to fly more than a 
few feet at a time. The frantic parents 
were feeding them and trying to keep 
track of their offspring. 

We saw a Blue Jay make an attack 
upon one of them, and hurried to the res- 
cue. But two of the little ones went chirp- 
ing into a neighbor’s yard. Being unable 
to get through the wire fence I rushed 
around the corner and into the yard, 
but I was two minutes or more too late,— 
only the cat was visible. 

We caught the other two, however, and 
put them under a sieve with a heavy 
weight upon it for the night. 

This morning we put the little ones 
into a clean barrel which stands in the 
shade of an orange tree. I mixed a hard- 
boiled egg finely with a teaspoonful of 
corn meal and put it into the barrel; 
also a shallow dish of fresh water. The 
top is open and the old birds are today 
taking care of them. 

The brilliant male gallantly stands 
guard to keep the Jays away, while the 
loyal mother goes into the depths of the 
barrel (which looks so much like a trap) 
to feed her young. The little things are 
eating and growing and once in a while 
they are exercising their wings in flying 
upward. The barrel will be closely watch- 
ed today and carefully covered with 
the sieve well fastened down before it 
is quite dark. It will be uncovered very 
early in the morning, and in three days 
time, or perhaps less, the birds will be 
free and independent.—ELizABETH A. 
REED, Clearwater, Fla. 


A Robin Note 


My laboratory studio in Princeton is 
on the second floor of North College, with 
a window toward the campus, to the north. 
This side of Old Nassau is completely 
covered with ivy, in which dozens of 
English Sparrows nest. 

A few years ago Robins were very 
numerous on the college campus, but of 
late a few red squirrels have their abode 


216 


there, and, with but a few exceptions, the 
Robins have been One 
Robin has built over the arch of the cen- 
ter window, and this spring a 


driven away. 


curious 


bird note could be heard all day long. 
This was an incessant sparrow-like chirp, 


at aid 


interspersed with snatches of Robin song— 
the chirp predominating; this was made 
by a fine full-plumaged male Robin. He 
had probably been reared among the Spar- 
rows and, by imitation, had acquired their 
notes.—BRUCE HORSFALL, Princeton, N.J. 


Bird - 


A LOOTED BOB-WHITE’S NEST 
Photographed by Frank van Gilluwe 


Lore 


A Tragedy in Bird Life 


These early June mornings, so tempt- 
ing to bird-lovers, have often found my 
brother and I afield armed with field glass 
and 


camera. And always, as we have 


reached a_ certain 
favorite spot, the 
familiar call, ‘‘ Bob 


White! Bob White!’ 


has been sure to 
greet us. Often, too, 
we flushed the 


Quail from the un- 
derbrush, but never 
a trace of the nest 
could we find. 

Recently the 
mystery was solved, 
and a woodland tra- 
gedy disclosed as 
well. 

So carefully was 
the nest made, and 
so well was it hid- 
den, that had it not 
been for the tra- 
gedy, should 
probably never have 
found it. But five 
or six of the white 
eggs scattered about 
in front of the nest 
drew the eye and, 
together with a 
bunch of feathers 
behind it, told the 
sad story. 

Perhaps a family 
of young weasels 
that I saw playing 
in a thicket hard 
by could have told 
more of it. And had 
we had time _ to 
stay and watch we 
might have caught the thief coming back 
for the rest of his booty. 

The nest is beautifully arched. One 
might almost call it a blind tunnel. Per- 
haps that is why the too careful mother 
was Caught. 


we 


Notes from Field and Study 


It was built just in front of a thick clump 
of tall grass, some of which was bent 
over and mixed with other grass and 
weeds to form the top. Almost directly 
in front of the nest was a thick bush 
which had to be held aside while my 
brother took the picture. It will always 
be one of great interest to us both.— 
EMMA VAN GILLUWE, Ocean Grove, N. J. 


Notes on the Rose-breasted Grosbeak 


In looking over some of my earlier notes 
on the Rose-breasted Grosbeak I found 
the following entries which seem, at the 
present time of writing, to be rather 
unique and worthy of permanent record- 
ing. 

The year 1891 witnessed some of my 
first attempts at field-work in ornithology. 
My home was at that time in Jackson, 
Mich., and my field of observation a 
tract of semi-swampy ground on the 
southwestern extremities of the city, known 
locally as the ‘Willows,’ a term which 
has clung to the district ever since. 

Here it was that, in the fore-part of 
May, 1891, in company with a friend, 
I met with a flock of about twelve male 
Grosbeaks in such a state of exhaustion 
that we were enabled to remove one or 
two from their perches in a low tree and 
hold them in our hands without further 
demonstration of displeasure from the 
birds than that of receiving a sharp nip 
on the fingers. We watched them for all 
of a half-hour and thought at the time 
that they were suffering from some sort 
of illness because of their apparent lack 
of strength. When first noted, the birds 
were clambering over the limbs of the 
poplars, in a languid and clumsy manner, 
but soon appeared to regain their strength. 
The time of observation was about 8 A. M. 
and the morning a mild one, with some 
traces of mist in the air, as the result of 
previous rains. Moreover, this was the 
first record of the species for that spring. 

Looking back upon the occurrence now, 
the only explanation at all satisfactory 
is that the Grosbeaks were recovering 


217 


from the extreme fatigue attendant upon 
the migratory movement from the south. 
This explanation is well sustained by 
the fact that the birds were still in a body, 
not having had time to disperse over the 
surrounding territory in quest of food. 
The morning being a mild one, the birds 
could not have been suffering from cold 
nor from lack of food supply, as the leaf 
and flower buds were well advanced on 
the majority of the shrubs for the season 
of the year and must also have supported 
some insect life. 

If any of the readers of Birp-Lore 
have met with a similar experience re- 
garding this or any other species of bird, 
the writer would be glad to receive com- 
munications from such observers regard- 
ing this point.—A. D. TINKER, Ann Arbor, 
Mich. 


Notes on the Wood Thrush 


About the beginning of May, 1908, a 
nest of the Wood Thrush was found in a 
pine woods not far from home. It was 
built in a sapling, and, when found, con- 
tained four eggs. Several days later I 
visited the nest, but the eggs were gone, 
probably destroyed by a Blue Jay or 
other enemy. I found another nest on 
May 14, in the same locality, and this one 
also contained eggs. I visited it several 
times after this, and on every occasion the 
bird was on the nest. On May 27 there 
was no sign of eggs or bird. A little later 
on I found another nest. It was not far 
from the other two, and was built in a tall 
sapling. When found, the nest contained 
young birds. These were raised success- 
fully. On June 2 I found another nest of 
the same bird. It was also built in a sap- 
ling. On June 6 a Thrush was on the nest. 
For several days after this I did not see 
the bird and secured the nest. It was a 
usual Wood Thrush nest, being built of 
pine needles, rootlets, leaves and a little 
moss. Strange to say, a large piece of 
snake-skin was also used. This is the only 
nest of the Wood Thrush I have seen that 
contained snake-skin.—EDWARD S. Din 
GLE, Summerton, S. C. 


Book News and Reviews 


The Ornithological Magazines 


Tre Aux.—The July number of ‘The 
Auk’ is a curious mixture of popular and 
scientific ornithology, with some nomen- 
clature besides, which is neither one nor 
the other. Readable ‘Observations on 
the Golden Eagle in Montana,’ by E. S. 
Cameron, are accompanied by fine half- 
tone plates of the country and of the birds. 
Some of the prevailing ideas and stories 
regarding the habits and accomplishments 
of this splendid species are overset by 
Mr. Cameron. 

One of the many dangers to which 
migrating birds are exposed is related by 
J. H. Fleming in an aarticle on ‘The 
Destruction of Whistling Swans (Olor 
columbianus) at Niagara Falls,’ where, 
last March, fully a hundred of these great 
white creatures were swept over the falls 
and killed or captured afterwards. On 
page 317, R. Deane records a disaster to 
Chimney Swifts, several hundred being 
overcome by coal-gas in a chimney they 
had unwisely attempted to descend; and 
a third tragedy is noted by J. H. Bowles, 
on page 312, who found Mallard Ducks 
dead, apparently from lead-poisoning, due, 
evidently, to bird-shot that they had 
swallowed in quantity by mistake for 
gravel. 

R. C. Harlow has ‘Recent Notes on the 
Birds of Eastern Pennsylvania,’ and C. J. 
Pennock contributes ‘ Birds of Delaware— 
Additional Notes.’ ‘Larus kumlieni, and 
Other Northern Gulls in the Neighbor- 
hood of Boston,’ is the title of a paper by 
By Ee Allene 

J. H. Riley describes a new race of the 
Broad-winged Hawk from Antigua, nam- 
ing it insudicola, and E. J. Court separates 
the Great Salt Lake Blue Heron under 
the name tregansai. As each of these 
new forms is based, primarily, on a single 
breeding specimen, the need for new 
names may well be doubted. Without 
reflecting, in any way, on the good inten- 
tions of these describers, it might be re- 


marked that the modern tendency is to 
mame a difference first and explain it 
afterwards. 

Fifty-seven pages are devoted to the 
Fourteenth Supplement to the A. O. U. 
“Check-List,” now a thing of rags and 
tatters, ready for the nomenclatural junk- 
heap. This supplement is a ghastly four- 
years’ record of changes and errors. The 
new additions are only thirty-four, ten of 
them being full species, of which six are 
stragglers to Greenland. The law of 
priority is cited as the chief scape-goat for 
the havoc wrought, but there is something 
radically wrong with any laws or rules of 
nomenclature which permit of such con- 
stant overturning of names as has been 
seen in the last decade. To the game of 
names no penalties are attached, and the 
rules are so complicated that few people 
can tell if one plays fair or not; so that, 
unless this amusement is taken bodily 
out of the hands of experts, no permanent 
stability is to be expected. Side-lights on 
the game are furnished by Dr. J. A. Allen 
in ‘The Case of Strix vs. Aluco,’ and 
*‘Columbina vs. Chemepelia;’ but space 
forbids comment on the briefs presented, 
except to note that they set forth a de- 
plorable amount of error and opinion. 
If names could be minted like coins, or, 
at least, all run through the same machine, 
we should soon have a stable nomencla- 
ture. The present exhibit is enough to 
disgust everybody who believes there is 
something beyond mere names in scien- 
tific progress.—]J. D., Jr. 


THE ConporR.—Since the last review 
of ‘The Condor,’ several numbers have 
appeared, of which those for March and 
May still await notice. The opening 
article in the March number, forming the 
third part of Finley’s ‘Life History of the 
California Condor,’ treats of the home- 
life of the bird, and is illustrated with one 
plate and five text figures. Adam’s ‘Notes 
on the Rhea, or South American Ostrich,’ 
illustrated with reproductions of three 


(218) 


Book News and Reviews 


photographs, contains an account of the 
habits of the bird, and the Indian methods 
of cooking the Rhea and its eggs. Con- 
siderable attention is devoted to the birds 
of the Santa Barbara Islands in ‘Spring 
Notes from Santa Catalina Island,’ on 
twenty-nine species, by C. H. Richardson, 
Jr., and ‘ Notes from San Clemente Island,’ 
by C. B. Linton. The latter paper is an 
annotated list of fifty-eight species, based 
on observations made in 1907, and con- 
tains a record of the Harris Sparrow 
({Zonotrichia querula), apparently the 
second for the state. A third formal paper 
is that by A. P. Smith, containing some 
general notes on the birds of the Whet- 
stone mountains, Arizona. 

Two articles devoted to nesting habits 
of certain birds also deserve mention,— 
one on the Phainopepla, by Harriet W. 
Myers, and the other on the Great Blue 
Heron, by H. W. Carriger and J. R. Pem- 
berton. Three text figures in the latter 
paper illustrate the unusual nesting-site 
of a colony of Herons near Redwood City, 
Cal. These birds, driven from their 
former breeding-place in the tops of some 
eucalyptus trees, constructed their nests 
on the ground far out in the marsh. 

‘Some Hints on the Preparation of an 
OGlogical Collection,’ by R. B. Rockwell, 
may be read with profit by those interested 
in collecting eggs. In the editorial columns 
attention is called to the California Mu- 
seum of Vertebrate Zodlogy, recently 
established at the University of California, 
at Berkeley, through the generosity of 
Miss Annie M. Alexander; and to the 
present status of the California Academy 
of Sciences in San Francisco. The col- 
lection of birds belonging to the Academy 
now numbers more than 11,000 specimens. 

The May number stands out in strong 
contrast on account of its lack of illus- 
trations. The only illustration is that of 
the nest of the Mexican Black Hawk in a 
brief article by G. B. Thomas, based on 
observations on this Hawk made in British 
Honduras. An important paper by J. 
E. Thayer and Outram Bangs, on the 
birds of Guadalupe island, indicates that 
three of the species peculiar to the island— 


219 


the Guadalupe Caracara, the Guadalupe 
Wren, and the Guadalupe Towhee—are 
now extinct. Swarth contributes ‘Some 
Fall Migration Notes from [southern] 
Arizona,’ on one hundred and nine species, 


‘and Linton continues his papers on the 


birds of the Santa Barbara islands, with 
‘Notes from Santa Cruz Island,’ contain- 
ing an annotated list of eighty-eight 
species. Among the shorter articles are 
those on ‘A Migration Wave of Varied 
Thrushes,’ by Joseph Mailliard, ‘The 
Waltzing Instinct in Ostriches,’ by F. W. 
D’ Evelyn, and ‘Three Nests of Note from 
Northern California,’ by Harry H. Shel- 
don.—T. S. P. 


Book News 


WiTHERBY & Co. request us to state 
that ‘How to Attract and Protect Wild 
Birds—A Full Description of Successful 
Methods,’ may be obtained from the 
National Association of Audubon Socie- 
ties, 141 Broadway, New York City. 


D. AppLtETON & Co. announce for 
publication in November, ‘Camps and 
Cruises of an Ornithologist,’ by Frank 
M. Chapman. The work is based on its 
author’s eight-seasons’ field-work while 
gathering material and making studies 
for the “ Habitat Groups” in the American 
Museum of Natural History, and will be 
illustrated by upward of 250 photographs. 


RECENT publications by the Bureau of 
Biological Survey include ‘Directory of 
Officials and Organizations Concerned 
With the Protection of Birds and Game, 
1908,’ by T. S. Palmer; a wall chart show- 
ing the ‘Close Seasons for Game in the 
United States and Canada, 1908, com- 
piled by T. S. Palmer, and Henry Oldys; 
and ‘Game Protection in 1g09’ by Henry 
Oldys; ‘The Game Resources of Alaska,’ 
by Wilfred H. Osgood; ‘Does it Pay the 
Farmer to Protect Birds’ (of which we 
shall write later) by H. W. Henshaw. The 
three last-named papers are from the 
‘year-book’ for 1907. Copies of these 
publications may be obtained from the 
Bureau at Washington. 


220 


Bird- Lore 


A Bi-monthly Magazine 
Devoted to the Study and Protection of Birds 
OFFICIAL ORGAN OF THE AUDUBON SOCIETIES 


Edited by FRANK M. CHAPMAN 
Published by THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 


Vol. X No. 5 


Published October 1, 1908 


SUBSCRIPTION RATES 
Price in the United States, Canada and Mexico 
twenty cents a number, one dollar a year, post- 
age paid. 


COPYRIGHTED, 1908, BY FRANK M. CHAPMAN 


Bird-Lore’s Motto: 
A Bird in the Bush is Worth Tao in the Hand 


THE time is approaching when the 
Committee of the American Ornitholo- 
gists’ Union will determine what changes, 
if any, are required in the common names 
of North American birds in the new 
‘Check-List.’ We have invited and have 
received some correspondence on this im- 
portant subject, but our contributors have, 
it seems to us, recommended more changes 
than it is desirable to make. 

Granted that it would be possible to 
supply half our birds with more appro- 
priate names than they now possess, if the 
present ‘Check-List’ name has been gen- 
erally accepted, and is in common use, it 
should be retained. On the other hand, 
if the ‘Check-List’ name is not the one 
by which the species is generally known, 
the Committee should adopt the one most 
frequently applied to it. This rule, how- 
ever, should be applied with discrimina- 
tion, for it is not desirable to abandon 
terms in standing with people of educa- 
tion for the vernacular of the hunter. 
For example, ‘Roseate Spoonbill’ should 
not, in our opinion, give way to ‘Pink 
Curlew,’ by which name this bird is 
known in Florida. But ‘Anhinga,’ which 
must be explained whenever it is used out- 
side an ornithological audience, might 
well be replaced by the commonly em- 
ployed ‘Water Turkey,’ or ‘Snakebird.’ 

In preparing the first edition of the 
“Check-List’ (1886), the Committee had 
many cases of this kind to act upon, and 
its decisions, on the whole, were made 
with excellent judgment. Insome instances, 


Bird - Lore 


however, the public have not adopted the 
A. O. U. Committee’s name, and, in the 
edition of their work, it 
might be good policy for them to ac- 
knowledge their failure by adopting the 
current name of the species in question. 

The ‘Snowy Heron’ (Egretta candi- 
dissima), aS an aigrette-bearing bird, is 
just as much an Egret as the ‘American 
Egret’ (Herodias egreita) and is certainly 
more deserving the term than the *Red- 
dish Egret’ (Dichromanassa rufescens) 
of the “Check-List.’ In Florida it bears 
the name Egret, in common with the 
larger white bird (egretta), and there seems. 
to be abundant reason for changing 
‘Snowy Heron’ to ‘Snowy Egret’ in the 
new ‘Check-List.’ 

‘Bartramian Sandpiper’ is another 
name which the public has done well to 
reject. The case is complicated, for to 
adopt the vernacular ‘Upland Plover,’ 
would apparently place a Plover among 
the Sandpipers; but, if we are to have a 
book name, let us compromise on Upland 
Sandpiper and relieve the bird of its 
Bartramian handicap. _ 

Personally, we should like to see the 
name ‘Semi-palmated Plover,’ by which 
no one but an ornithologist calls the 
bird, abolished for the more generally 
known and more descriptive ‘ Ring-necked 
Plover.’ The fact that several species 
have ringed necks should not deprive us 
of the use of the name, while the ‘Ring 
Plover’ of our ‘List’ occupies too limited 
an area in America to be considered in 
this connection. 

All the various species of ‘Partridge,’ 
which are invariably called ‘Quail’ by 
the people of the country they inhabit, 
should, we think, be called ‘Quail;’ the 
‘Green-crested Flycatcher’ should be 
given its former name of ‘Acadian Fly- 
catcher,’ the ‘Leucostictes’ should be 
known as ‘Snow Finches,’ Louisiana 
Tanager should become ‘Western Tana- 
ger;’ for obvious reasons, the ‘ Water- 
Thrush,’ ‘Northern Water-Thrush,’ and 
the formal ‘Wilson’s Thrush’ may well 
be abandoned for the more poetic and 
suitable ‘ Veery.’ 


forthcoming 


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GOLDEN—AND RUBY—CROWNED KINGLETS 


Order — PASSERES Family —Sytviip#& 
Genus—REGULUS Species—SATRAPA AND CALENDULA 


THE GOLDEN-CROWNED KINGLET 
THE RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET 


By MABEL OSGOOD WRIGHT 


Che Pational Association of Audubon Societies 


EDUCATIONAL LEAFLET NO. 34 


When October comes, the fall migration is in full swing. The trees are full 
of the bustle of comings and ‘goings, and the morning sun, that now gives little 
heat before eight o’clock, draws many night-travelers from their seclusion to 
preen and spread their feathers after a dew-bath in the grass. Aside from call- 
notes, more or less musical, there is an absence of real song, save in the case of 
the Meadowlark, White-throat or Song Sparrow, whose cheerfulness is uncon- 
querable, and the murmurs of the young of the year, who are often impelled 
to try their voices before their first spring. As the birds of summer vanish, we 

turn eagerly to those that may be with usin the cold season, 
Winter Birds and are divided technically into two groups—the Winter Resi- 

dents and the Winter Visitants. We might naturally think that 
birds that can stand the rigors and changes of the winter, even in our middle 
states, must be of large size and powerful in wing; but is this always so? 

No, quite the contrary. Of course, the resident Hawks and Owls are large, 
as is also the Crow; while the Flicker, Jay, Meadowlark, Waxwing, Crossbill 
and Robin are sizable; but how about the Purple Finch, Myrtle Warbler, Blue- 
bird, Song Sparrow, Chickadee, Winter Wren and the Golden-crowned Kinglet ? 
This Kinglet is third in the list of our three “least” birds, the 
measurements of the other two running thus: Ruby-throated 
Hummingbird, 3.75 inches in length, Winter Wren 4.06 inches, 
while the Golden-crowned Kinglet is 4.07 inches. The Ruby-throat leaves with 
the first warning of frost, but the Winter Wren becomes a familiar resident 
about wood-piles and brush-heaps, and the tiny Kinglet may be seen in all 
the coldest months. 

How shall we know the Kinglets, crowned by their crests of flame and gold, 
or ruby? They have no conspicuous flight like the Kingbird, no azure coat 
like the Bluebird, or familiar call and ways like the Chickadee. 

When, in early October, you see the shadow of a tiny bird of dusky olive plum- 
age working industriously between you and the sky among the terminal twigs 
of an apple tree, or maybe a spruce, then watch out! The bird that acts and looks 
like one of the tribe of Warblers, so hard to identify in autumn, and has a War- 
bler-like voice, not only may be, but most likely is, a Kinglet. 

Go as close as possible, and watch the restless head atop the fluffy ball of 
feathers. Does a heavy black band margin a yellow line that encloses a patch 


The Kinglet’s 
Size 


(221) 


222 Bird - Lore 


of fiery orange on top of the bird’s head? Then it is the male Golden-crowned 
Kinglet. If the patch is only black and yellow, then the bird is a female. If 
the bird has two distinct white wing bars and a white eye ring, and does not 
show the striped head markings, it is likely to be the Ruby-crowned, whose 
flaming, plain red crest, being partly concealed by olive feathers, is conspicuous 
only in certain lights. These two Kinglets, though so much alike in general 
appearance, have very distinctive individualities. Both species breed north- 
ward from the United States, and are, therefore, only with us as visitors, yet their 
special attributes belong to different seasons. It is for the exquisite spring song 
of the Ruby-crowned that we prize him; for, like a wandering minstrel, he sings 
his way from tree-top to tree-top along the northern route to his breeding 
haunts; while, though the call of the sprightly Golden-crowned is an almost 
insect-like chirp, its value lies in its cheerful winter companionship. Taking 
The Golden- them separately, this Kinglet must have right of way as being 
crowned the most easy of identification, not only from its brilliant crown, 
Kinglet but from its animated little song teezee—teezee—teezee, given in 
an ascending key and ending in a sort of titter, half cry, half laugh. This per- 
formance is given constantly as the bird searches the smallest twigs for the 
insect food upon which its high vitality depends, for, aside from all esthetic 
qualities, both Kinglets are great consumers of the insects of the terminal shoots 
of orchards and forest trees, that larger birds can not reach. 
The range of this little bird extends over North America 

His Range from the Gulf states northward to the tree limit. Its general 
nesting haunts are from the “northern United States northward, 

southward along the Rockies into Mexico, and in the Alleghanies to North Caro- 
lina; winters from its southern breeding limit to Mexico and the Gulf States.” 

The observations that give the most detailed account of its nesting habits 
were made in Worcester county, Massachusetts, by Mr. William Brewster.* 

Three nests in all were found; the first on June 13, when the 
His Nest outside was practically finished and the birds were working 

at the lining. On June 2g it contained nine eggs. Mr. Brewster’s 
description, quoted freely, is as follows: “It was placed in a slender spruce 
on the south side, within two feet of the top of the tree, and at least sixty feet 
above the ground, suspended among fine, pendent twigs about two inches below 
a short, horizontal branch, some twelve inches out from the main stem, and an 
equal distance from the end of the branch. The tree stood near the upper edge 
of a narrow strip of dry, rather open woods, bordered on one side by a road 
and on the other by an extensive sphagnum swamp. 

“The outside of the nest was composed chiefly of green mosses prettily diver- 
sified with grayish lichens, . . . . the general tone of the coloring, how- 
ever, matching that of the surrounding spruce foliage. The interior, at the 
bottom, was lined with delicate strips of inner bark and rootlets. Near the 


*See The Auk, Vol. v, 1888, pp. 337-344. 


The Golden- and Ruby-crowned Kinglet 22% 


top were feathers of the Ruffed Grouse, Hermit Thrush and Ovenbird, arranged 
with the points of the quills down, the tips rising slightly above the rim and curv- 
ing inward, so as to form a screen for the eggs. The second nest was closely 
canopied by the spruce foliage, under which it was suspended, leaving hardly 
enough room for the parents to enter. 

“The ground-color of the eggs varies from cream-white to a deep muddy 
cream-color. Over this are varied markings of pale wood-brown, these, in turn,. 

being the background for sharper markings of lavender. In 
The Eggs both nests the eggs were too numerous to find room on the bottom 

of the nest, and were piled in two layers.’ (Incidentally, it would 
be interesting to know how the little birds manage to turn these nine or ten eggs 
so as to secure equable heat.] 

“These nests were found by watching the birds while building; a task of no 
little difficulty in dense spruce woods where the light was dim, even at noon- 
day. Moreover, the movements of this little architect were erratic and puzzling 
to the last degree. . . . We finally found that her almost invariable 
custom was to approach the nest by short flights and devious courses, and, 
upon reaching it, to dash in, deposit and arrange her load in from two to four 
seconds and at once dart off in search for more.” 

You may expect to see the Golden-crown in numbers in the middle and eastern 
states almost any time after September 20 until Christmas, then sparingly until 
middle March, when the return of those who have roved farther south begins. 
By the first of May, at the latest, they will all have passed northward in advance 
of the general migration of Warblers. 

I have many times seen them about my feeding-tree, where they hang upside 
down upon the lumps of suet with all the agility of Chickadees; while, upon 
one occasion, a Winter Wren, a Brown Creeper and the Kinglet all occupied 
characteristic positions upon the same lump of suet, feasting and chatting, as 
it seemed, in perfect harmony. This goes to prove that the remoter birds may 
be encouraged to stay about habitations if only proper food is within reach; 
while suet in large lumps, securely fastened so that birds may perch on it and 
peck at it as they would in quarrying insects and grubs from under bark, is the 
food universal for all insect-eaters. 


The public rdle of the Ruby-crowned Kinglet is that of a songster pure and 
simple, though he is as industrious in his search for food as his little brother, 


The Ruby- and as clever at nest-building in the mountain fastnesses, some- 
crowned times at a height of nearly 8,000 feet. In fact, this nesting of the 
Kinglet Ruby-crowned is conducted with such secrecy that we have but 


few and meager descriptions of it. Unlike his brother, we see the Ruby-crowned 
in a brief interval between middle April and May, and again for a month between 
late September and October. During both migrations, they are birds of the same 
class of thickets that Warblers love. 


224 Bird - Lore 


The late Doctor Coues gives us one of the best descriptions of the ways 
of this Kinglet. He says: “To observe the manner of the Ruby-crown one need 
only repair at the right season to the nearest thicket, coppice or piece of shrub- 
bery. These are its favorite resorts, especially in fall and winter; though some- 
times, in the spring more particularly, it seems to be more ambitious, and its 
slight form may be almost lost among the branchlets of the taller trees, where 
the equally small Parula Warbler is most at home. We shall most likely find 
it not alone, but in straggling troops, which keep up a sort of companionship 
with each other. : : They appear to be incessantly in motion,—I 
know of no birds more active than these,—presenting the very picture of restless, 
puny energy, making much ado about nothing. 

“The Ruby-crowned Kinglet is one of our most wonderful songsters. During 
April and early May, the attentive listener can frequently hear the beautiful 
lay. The notes are clear, very loud and prolonged, full of variety and purity. 
This exquisite vocalization defies description; we .can speak only in general 
terms of the power, purity and volume of the notes, their faultless modulation 
and long continuance.”’ 

Audubon says of it: “When I tell you that its song is fully as sonorous as 
that of the Canary-bird, and much richer, I do not come up to the truth, for it 
is not only as powerful and clear, but much more varied and pleasing.” 

But of many like descriptions of this wonderful song, that of Mr. Chapman 
is by far the most expressive: “The May morning when first I heard the King- 
let’s song is among the most memorable days of my early ornithological ex- 
periences. The bird was in the tree-tops in the most impassable bit of woods 
near my home. The longer and more eagerly I followed the unseen singer, 
the greater the mystery became. It seemed impossible that a bird which I sup- 
posed was at least as large as a Bluebird could escape observation in partly 
leaved trees. 

“The song was mellow and flute-like, and loud enough to be heard several 
hundred yards: an intricate warble, past imitation or description, and ren- 
dered so admirably that I never hear it now without feeling an impulse to applaud. 
The bird is so small, the song so rich and full, that one is reminded of a chorister 
with the voice of an adult soprano. To extend the comparison, one watches 
this gifted but unconscious musician flitting about the trees with somewhat the 
feeling that one observes the choir-boy doffing his surplice and joining his com- 
rades for a game of tag.” 

Remember these tributes and, when the leaves grow yellow and fall away, 
watch for the Golden-crown among the upper twigs in the orchard; and, when 
the swamp maples redden and the beeches unfold their velvet paws, listen in 
the copses for the voice of the matchless Ruby-crown. Like all the smaller, 
elusive birds, the Kinglets have been known under various names given by the 
older ornithologists, who were not exact in family groupings and nomenclature. 
Golden-crested Wren and Golden-crested Tit are among these titles. 


The Audubon Societies 


EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT 


Edited by WILLIAM DUTCHER 


Address all correspondence, and send all remittances for dues and contributions, to 
the National Association of Audubon Societies, 141 Broadway, New York City 


Notice of the Annual Meeting of the 


National Association of Audubon Societies 


The annual meeting of the members of 
the National Association of Audubon 
‘Societies for the Protection of Wild Birds 
and Animals, for the election of six direc- 
tors, to take the place of the following di- 
rectors, viz., Abbott H. Thayer, Mrs. C. 
‘Grant La Farge, John E. Thayer, Frank 
M. Miller, Theodore S. Palmer and 
Ruthven Deane, Class of 1908, whose 
terms of office will then expire, and for 
the transaction of such other business as 
may properly come before the meeting, 
will be held at the American Museum of 
Natural History, Columbus avenue and 
Seventy-seventh street, in the Borough of 
Manhattan and City of New York, on 
the twenty-seventh day of October, nine- 
teen hundred and eight, at two o’clock, 
p. M. At the close of the business meeting, 
Mr. William L. Finley, our northwest 
field agent, the well-known explorer and 
nature photographer, will give an illus- 
trated lecture on the results of his summer 
work, entitled ‘‘On the Trail of the Plume- 
Hunters.”—T. GILBERT PEARSON, Sec- 
retary. 


A Valuable Book 


The Association has received an ad- 
vance copy of ‘‘How to Attract and Pro- 
tect Wild Birds—-A Full Description of 
Successful Methods,” by Martin Hiese- 
mann, translated by Emma S. Buchheim, 
with an introduction by Her Grace the 
Duchess of Bedford, President of the Royal 
Society for the Protection of Birds. This 
publication is a translation into English 
of the German work, which describes 
the methods devised by Baron von Ber- 


lepsch, at the experimental station at 
Seebach, in the district of Langensalza, 
in Thuringia, the ancestral castle of the 
Berlepsch family since the twelfth cen- 
tury. The area used for experiments com- 
prises about five hundred acres, of which 
nineteen acres are park, sixty acres are 
thickets (poplar and willow plantations), 
and four hundred acres are wood. 

The methods used by Baron von Ber- 
lepsch for many years, and the successful 
results attained, are of such great value 
and of so great interest that the publica- 
tion should be in the hands of every bird- 
lover in this country. The publication 
contains many cuts of bird-boxes, feeding- 
places, shelter-woods, hints 
of value. 


and other 


The Association has sent an order to 
Germany for a complete outfit of nesting- 
boxes of various sizes and shapes, and also 
of food-sticks, food-houses and food-bells. 
It is hoped that these will arrive in time 
to be exhibited at the annual meeting of 
the Society, in October. As soon as Messrs. 
Witherby & Company, of London, the 
publishers, have the book ready for de- 
livery, it will be on sale at the office of 
the National Association in New York. 


What Birds Will Nest in Houses 


The undersigned takes this opportunity 
to thank those who have responded to 
his request, in a previous issue of BrrD- 
Lore, for experience in attracting birds 
around houses, for use in the preparation 
of a pamphlet on this subject for the Au- 
dubon Society. He makes one more re- 
quest regarding a special point. In this 
connection. He has found only one record 
of each of the following species nesting 
in bird-houses,—Screech Owl, Carolina 


(225) 


226 


Chickadee, Tufted Titmouse, Crested 
Flycatcher, and no record of any of the 
Woodpeckers or Nuthatches using arti- 
ficial houses for nesting. The undersigned 
will be very grateful to hear from any one 
who has had any experiences with the 
nesting of any of these birds around their 
homes.—GILBERT H. TRAFTON, Clijton, 
Ng de 


Protection for Snowy Herons 


The very important discovery made by 
Mr. Herbert R. Sass, that the Snowy Heron 
had reéstablished itself in South Carolina, 
as reported on pages 160-162 of the cur- 


GREAT BLUE HERON 


Flashlight by Wetmore Hodges, on Conway Lake, 
Mich. 
rent volume of Birp-LoreE, will entail 
upon this Association a very considerable 
expense, which will have to be provided 
for before the breeding season of 1909. 
While the problem of safeguarding these 
two important colonies will not be a diffi- 
cult one, yet it will necessitate a consider- 
able expenditure of money, as it will be 
necessary to either lease the breeding 
grounds or purchase them. The Federal 
Government does not own any land in 
the thirteen original states, and, therefore, 
cannot make reservations in any of them. 
In addition to the amount necessary for 
purchase or rental, it will also be necessary 


Bird - 


Lore 


for us to employ two wardens, as the 
colonies are so far apart that one warden 
cannot give them proper protection. Is 
there not some member of the Association 
or some reader of BrirD-LORE who will 
be willing to furnish the funds needed 
for purchase, rental and care? The num- 
bers of Snowy Herons that are still left 
in the United States is so small that it 
is extremely important that each of the 
few scattered colonies that remain shall 
receive the most careful protection possible. 
—W. D. 


A New Audubon Society 


On August 11, 1908, a meeting was held 
at Wichita, Kansas, of representative 
business and professional men and women, 
for the purpose of organizing an Audubon 
Society in the state of Kansas. 

A committee on constitution and by- 
laws was appointed, and Mr. Richard E. 
Sullivan, of the United States Weather 
Bureau, was elected president, and Mr. 
Frank E. McMullen, secretary. 

The organization of this society closes 
up a gap in our map showing states hav- 
ing Audubon Societies, and we trust that, 
before the end of the next legislative ses- 
sion in Kansas, we shall be able to report 
that this state also has adopted the model 
law protecting non-game birds. 


Progress in South Dakota 


For the first time in years, the birds upon 
the Federal reservations of South Dakota 
have had a chance to rear their young. 
At the request of Charles E. Holmes, 
President of the South Dakota Audubon 
Society, President Roosevelt issued, June 
11, 1908, the following regulations gov- 
erning the killing or taking of song- or 
game-birds on all of the reservations in 
the state: 

“Under the authority conferred by sec- 
tion 463 of the Revised Statutes of the 
United States, the following regulations 
to govern the killing or taking of song- or 
game-birds within the limits of the Lower 
Brule, Crow Creek, Standing Rock and 


The Audubon Societies 


Cheyenne River, Indian Reservations, 
South Dakota, are hereby promulgated: 

“All Indians, including mixed bloods, 
are forbidden to shoot or kill any Prairie 
Chicken, Pinnated Grouse, Sharp-tailed 
Grouse, Ruffed Grouse, Woodcock, or 
Quail between the first day of January 
and the first day of September following, 
or any song-bird or insect-eating bird at 
any time, excepting Crows, Blackbirds 
and Sparrows. 

“All Indians, including mixed bloods, 
are forbidden to shoot or kill any Wild 
Duck, Wild Goose, Brant, or Wild Crane, 
between the first day of May and the first 
day of September following, or to shoot 
or kill any Plover or Curlew, between 
the fifteenth day of May and the first day 
of September following. 

“Tt is hereby forbidden to kill or shoot 
at any time any Wild Duck, Goose, or 
Brant, with any swivel gun, or other gun, 
except such as is commonly shot from the 
shoulder, or in hunting such birds to make 
use of any artificial light or battery. 

“It is hereby forbidden to use or employ 
any trap, snare, net, or bird-lime, or medi- 
cated, drugged, or poisoned grain or food, 
to capture or kill any of the birds men- 
tioned above. 

“Tt is also forbidden to wantonly destroy 
any nests or eggs of any song- or game- 
birds. 

“During the open season, only Indians 
residing on the reservation will be per- 
mitted to shoot or kill game-birds there- 
on, and then only for the purpose of sub- 
sistence. 

“The Secretary of the Interior is here- 
by directed to cause to be issued such 
orders or instructions to the United States 
Indian agents, or other persons in charge 
of the above-named reservations, as may 
be necessary to carry out these regula- 
tions.” 

Mr. Holmes says: “Spring shooting 
has got to go. We shall settle that at the 
next session of the legislature. Our game 
laws are being enforced better than ever, 
and we are gaining in membership and 
accomplishment right along. A book upon 
birds has been placed in very many of the 


227 


school libraries of the state, probably 
50° per cent of them, and will go into most 
of the others.” 


Massachusetts Notes 


On July ro, 1908, I visited the now well- 
known colony of Least Terns at Katama 
Bay, in company with the Rey. Albert 
Hylan and Deputy Fish and Game Com- 
missioner Savery. This colony, which 
was believed to be the last one remaining 
in New England, has moved, this year, 
toward the point where the beach is low, 
and the tides sometimes sweep over it. 
Mr. Savery tells me that there were be- 
tween forty and fifty birds there in the 
spring, and that most of the birds had 
eggs; but, during a high June tide, the 
sea swept the beach, and the birds were 
obliged to nest again. We counted twenty- 
four birds here at one time, and were satis- 
fied that there were fully thirty, as others 
were nesting further up the beach. Twelve 
nests were found, with one to three eggs 
each, and two young just hatched were 
seen. Six eggs were found in each of two 
nests, but possibly they were placed there 
by some of the many visitors at the beach. 
Cat tracks were seen, and evidently the 
birds are much disturbed. Probably their 
eggs and young are trodden upon by 
people who visit the beach. A native 
boatman informed me that city boys, who 
go gunning on the beach in July and 
August, shoot the mother Terns as they 
hover over their helpless young. Ap- 
parently this colony of Least Terns is 
diminishing in numbers; it should be given 
better protection. If the beach were pur- 
chased and a warden kept there through 
the summer to prevent shooting, and to 
kill maurauding cats, no doubt the num- 
ber of birds would increase. 

I visited many islands and beaches dur- 
ing the month of July, and, judging from 
my experience, the Least Terns are now 
slowly increasing in numbers in Massa- 
chusetts. A few birds were breeding in 
each of several localities, and two colonies 
of about fifty birds each were seen. All 
told, 173 birds were counted, and possibly 


228 


there are 200, as some were probably away 
fishing during my brief visits. This esti- 
mate does not include the young this year, 
as they are such adepts at hiding that it 
was impossible to find them all during my 
short stops. 

Under protection, the Common Tern 
and the Roseate Tern are increasing an- 
nually in numbers, and are now breeding 
again on coasts and islands whence they 
were driven years ago by the feather- 
hunters. Conservative estimates of the 
number of birds seen at the principal 
islands this year, give Muskeget 10,000; 
Penikese, 7,000; the Weepeckets, 5,000; 
Ram Island, 1,200; Gull Island, 700; 
Skiff’s Island, 300. It is impossible to 
estimate the number of Roseate Terns as 
compared with the Common Tern, but 
the largest numbers of Roseate Terns were 
seen on Muskeget and Gull Island. The 
Muskeget Terns are well protected by a 
resident warden during the breeding sea- 
son, but there are cats at the life-saving 
station there. Dr. Parker, Superintendent 
at the Massachusetts State Leper Hospital 
at Penikese, protects the birds there; 
although he considers them a great nui- 
sance, as they nest in the mowing fields 
and the corn fields, preventing seasonable 
cutting of the grass and requiring an extra 
man, while cultivating corn, to hold the 
horse, which is continually frightened by 
the angry birds. Common Terns are now 
breeding along the coast of Martha’s 
Vineyard, on islands in Buzzard’s Bay, 
about Cape Cod, and even along the 
North Shore. 

The few Laughing Gulls that were 
saved from the feather-hunters by the 
protection afforded them on Muskeget have 
so increased that there are now at least 
one thousand birds in two colonies there. 
A few were seen on Gull Island, Chappa- 
quidick, Martha’s Vineyard and Monomoy, 
but no eggs or young were found except 
on Muskeget. A few Herring Gulls appear 
to stay on Skiff’s and Gull Islands, but 
do not breed. 

There was considerable 
among the young of the Common Terns 
everywhere; some had their heads torn 


mortality ° 


Bird - Lore 


off by cats; others died of disease; on 
Penikese, some were trampled by cattle 
and sheep and a few had been shot, but, 
nevertheless, the steady increase of the 
birds is a great object lesson in the effi- 
cacy of bird-protection. 

During my visit to Katama Bay I saw 
only ten adult Piping Plover actually 
breeding, and the entire number seen on 
the Massachusetts coast in July did not 
exceed twenty birds. Very small young 
birds were seen in July and August. 
The laws of Massachusetts still allow the 
shooting of these birds in these months; 
and, while such laws are allowed to remain 
on the statute books, the only possible 
hope for the salvation of the birds lies 
in purchasing their breeding grounds and 
protecting them there.—E. H. ForsusH. 


Notes from North Carolina 


The storm which recently visited the 
North Carolina coast, extending over a 
period of five days, from July 28 to August 
I, was more destructive to the breeding 
sea-birds than any storm of which we 
have had previous experience in that 
territory. Coming, as it did, at the very 
height of the nesting season, the loss of 
eggs and young birds newly hatched was 
truly appalling. The six, low, sandy 
islands occupied by the birds were com- 
pletely swept by the waves, and all the 
eggs and young birds, as yet unable to fly, 
were carried away. N. F. Jennette, of 
Cape Hatteras, who is the chief warden 
of the territory, estimates the loss at not 
less than 10,000 young birds and eggs. 

Early in the season, the colonies had 
been disturbed by a storm which had so 
delayed them that only a few hundred 
young birds were able to fly when the 
storm of July 28 came. The bodies of 
more than one thousand young Terns 
were washed ashore near Cape Hatteras, 
and Warden Jennette reports that for 
days the old birds hovered over the bodies 
of their offspring, alighting among them 
and bringing them food. The storm also 
damaged the islands; for example, over 
one-third of Royal Shoal is now below 


The Audubon Societies 


sea-level. Our patrol boat ‘‘ The Dutcher,” 
was also severely damaged, and, as a 
result, has since been out of commission 
most of the time. A careful estimate of 
the number of sea-birds actually raised 
the past summer is as follows: 


owaleaern sites pas eee ee 400 
Walsomsiaherns series jose 700 
iplackySiimimersy =o +546 650 
EausbmeiGulls) S22 5252-2 750 
NEeastemernsya sist ar ase 566 
(Cabotismiermss-cx ses. 25 

3,091 


—T. GILBERT PEARSON. 


RESERVATION NOTES 


Tortugas Reservation 


At last we have a good colony of nests 
of the Least Tern on both the northern 
and southern ends of Loggerhead Key. 

The rats are so reduced that I cannot 
catch more than one or two each week. 
They seem to be unable to resist a guillo- 
tine trap baited with smoked herring. 

I doubt if the birds will lose any of 
their young, and, being now empowered 
to protect them, I hope to have a fine 
colony here in a few years.—ALFRED G. 
Maver, July 13, 1908. 


Inspection of Breton Island Reservation, 
Louisiana 


July 22.—Visited Barrel Key, the eas- 
ternmost point of a shell reef south of 
Creole Gap. About seventy-five Least 
Terns, flying over the Key, were observed 
here, and two newly hatched birds of this 
species were found on the broken shell. 
Captain Sprinkle had previously visited 
this Key and estimated the number of 
birds at about 200 adults, and had found 
several young birds on the Key. 

At noon we visited Martin Island Key, 
and found approximately 400 adult 
Skimmers and about too nests, averaging 
three eggs, or young, to each nest. The 
proportion of young to eggs was about 
one to three. Most of the young were 
newly hatched, and the sun caused a 


229 


heavy mortality among them; at least 25 
per cent of these appeared to have died 
in this way. 

July 23.—Spent the day at Southwest 
Harbor Key. Young Royal Terns, three 
to four weeks old, and just learning to 
fly, were massed together on the beach. 
There were about 2,500 of these. The 
Cabot’s Terns were all on the wing, and 
the majority of those present appeared to 
be adults. The adult strength of this colony 
at the beginning of the season, according 
to Captain Sprinkle’s estimates, was about 
2,500 each of Cabot’s and Royal Terns. 
About 1,000 adult Royal Terns were 
present at this time. 

July 24.—Left anchorage at Southwest 
Harbor Key at 7 A. M. Laid out a direct 
course to Battledore Island, due south- 
west., wind east; arrived at 1.30 P. M. 
Of Black Skimmers, adults on the wing, 
estimated the number at about 2,500. 
There were probably 1,000 young Skim- 
mers about ready to fly, and 300 Skimmer 


nests averaging two eggs, young, or young 
and eggs, to the nest. 

About 1,000 adult Laughing Gulls 
present and 2,000 young, most of them 
able to fly. There was an equal number 
of adult and young Royal Terns, most of 
the latter about ready to fly. 

The number of Caspian Terns was not 
over twenty; several were guarding nests 
containing either eggs or newly hatched 
young. Cabot’s Terns had nearly 500 
eggs and young. There were probably 
300 adults present. Louisiana Herons 
had nearly completed incubation, while 
many large nestlings were found. The 
total number of adults and young was 
estimated at 500. 

Forster’s Terns had practically finished 
their nesting, and few were seen about 
the island. 

After exploring Battledore Island, we 
sailed to Hog Island, and landed on the 
easternmost of the three parts into which 
it has been cut. There were few birds 
here, but Captain Sprinkle had noted 
many at the beginning of the season, and 
this island, with protection, will doubtless 
prove a valuable nesting-place. 


230 


July 25.—After an all-day sail through 
squalls and light winds, we made Dutcher’s 
Island an hour before sundown. An ex- 
‘amination of this reservation showed that 
‘all the Louisiana Herons had left their 
mests. Of old and young there were fully 
4,000. There were about twenty Snowy 
(Herons on the island. There were about 
z,500 Gulls about the island at the time 
‘of this visit. 

July 26.—Stormy all day; fearing very 
theavy weather outside, Captain Sprinkle 
:advised returning to Pass Christian, where 
we arrived at 2.30 P. M., having left Dutch- 
‘er’s Island at 7 A.M., and being unable 
to visit Little Deadman Islands, to to 55 in 
Eloi Bay, Islands 4 to 9 in Morgan Har- 
‘bor, Mitchell’s Key, Sam Holmes, Brush 
sand Sundown Islands. Estimates made 
by Captain Sprinkle of the number of 
‘birds present on these various islands at 
the time of his previous inspection are 
given below: 

July 15.—Sundown Island: 500 
‘Laughing Gulls’ nests, eggs all hatched; 
moo Foster's Terns’ nests, young birds 
call flown. 

July 15.—Brush Island: 200 Laughing 
Gulls’ nests, eggs all hatched; 500 Skim- 
mers’ nests, eggs all hatched. 

July 16.—Sam Holmes Island: 1,000 
‘Laughing Gulls’ nests, eggs all hatched. 

July 16.—Mutchell’s Key: 200 Skim- 
mers’ nests, eggs all hatched; 100 Laugh- 
ing Gulls’ nests, eggs all hatched. 

July 16.—dslands 4 and 5, Morgan Har- 
bor: 300 Louisiana Herons’ nests, eggs 
all hatched, young commencing to fly; 
2,000 Laughing Gulls’ nests, eggs all 
hatched; 50 ‘Grosbeaks’ nests (Black- 
‘crowned Night Heron), eggs all hatched; 
75 Forster’s Terns’ nests, young flying. 

July 16.—Islauds 6 to 9, Morgan Har- 
bor: 12,000 Laughing Gulls’ nests, eggs 
all hatched; 1,300 Louisiana Herons’ 
nests, young flying; 300 Forster’s Terns, 
young flying; 12 Snowy Herons’ nests, 
young all grown. 


July 17.—Islands 10 to 15, Eloi Bay: - 


4,700 Laughing Gulls’ nests, eggs all 
thatched. 
July 317.—Little Deadman’s Island: 


Bird - 


Lore 


200 Laughing Gulls’ nests, eggs all hatched; 
25 Caspian Terns’ nests, eggs all hatched. 


Summary of birds bred on islands of 
Breton and Louisiana Audubon Reser- 
vations, 1908: 


Black Skimmer— 


Martin's sland: Key 92) eae 225 
Battledorey sc) ee eee T,600 
Match ell spices 4 ae 200 
Brush islandsasa 26 esse eer 500 

; 2,525 

Laughing Gull— 

Battledore sa. sas eee 2,000 
Dutcheniswls land ees es I,500 
Little Deadman’s Island ...-. 500 


Islands ro to 15, Eloi Bay...-.10,000 
Island 4 and 5, Morgan Harbor 4,000 
Islands 6 to 9, Morgan Harbor. 25,000 


Miutchell?sikeyissa a2 oe soe ee 200 
Sam Holmes’ Island ......... 2,000 
Brusheislands--e-ee-. eee 400 
Sundown Island.........--:- T,000 
’ 46,600 
Royal Tern— 
Southwest Harbor Key....... 2,500 
Battledore sk. 54ers 2,000 
500 
Cabot’s Tern— ae 
Southwest Harbor Key....-.-- 2,500 
Battledore 24sec eee 500 
Se ss 3,000 
Caspian Tern— 
Battledore enor =o 20 
iitlesDeadmanty-ae=-ee eee 25 
Forster’s Tern— a 
Samiclayywanl slay cle ees sree 125 
Islands 4 and 5, Morgan Harbor 100 
Islands 6 tog, Morgan Harbor. 400 
625 
Least Tern— 
Barrel Key 2.0 eee ss soe 50 
Snowy Heron— 
Dutcher’s Uslandye os. = sea 20 
Island No. 7 (Job’s Island). 20 
40 


The Audubon Societies 


Black-crowned Night Heron— 


Islands 4 and 5, Morgan Harbor 200 
Mutchersplsland 55. --.5- 2." 20 
220 

Louisiana Heron— 
Battledonee 2.05 eesass2s ae 2 Si 200 
Wutchers sland) Ae: see - oe 2,500 


Islands 4 and 5, Morgan Harborr,200 
Islands 6 to 9, Morgan Harbors,o00 


8,900 
H. H. Kopman, Field Agent. 


Inspection of East Timbalier Reservation, 
Louisiana, August 3, 1908 


Black Skimmer.—Though adults of 
this species, numbering fully 7,500, were 
present on the island, not a single young 
bird was found, and the nests during the 
latter part of the season, at least, had 
evidently been disturbed. 


Laughing Gull.—At least 35,000 birds 
of this species were present, and a large 
proportion of these were young, just 
learning to fly. The crowding of the nests 
and the abundance of the young were 
almost incredible. 


Louisiana Heron.—Nearly all of this 
species had left, but former warden, 
W. H. Oliver, told me that a very large 
number of this species had been bred on 
the island, probably as many as 10,000. 


Royal Tern.—About 1,000 adults and 
a few young on the beach almost ready 
to fly were noted. 


Least Tern.—A few were seen about 
the island, and Mr. Oliver was sure the 
species had bred there. 


Snowy Heron.—About ten were seen 
on the island, and Mr. Oliver reported 
that about forty of this species, as well 
as some of the Black-crowned Night 
Heron had been bred there. 


Brown Pelican.—A large number— 
1,500 to 1,800—were feeding on the spits 
and bars. None had nested on the island. 
—H. H. Korman, Field Agent. 


231 


Three New Reservations 


During the month of August, President 
Roosevelt, at the request of this Associa- 
tion, issued orders establishing three new 
reservations; one to be known as the Key 
West Reservation, the application for which 
was based upon a report made by Capt. 
Charles G. Johnson, keeper of the Sand 
Key Light Station, near Key West, Florida. 

The applications for the Klamath Lake 
and Lake Malheur Reservations 
based on the reports of our field agent, 
Mr. William L. Finley, and his associate, 
Mr. Herman T. Bohlman, a portion of 
which was published in Birp-Lorg, vol. 
vlii, 1905, page 336 and the result of a 
trip they made during the present season 
as the representatives of this Association. 

“Our start was made from Portland, 
Oregon, and the entire trip between that 
city and the Malheur Lake region was 
made by automobile, over a thousand 
miles being covered during the trip. This 
was necessary, as the lake is 135 miles 
from the nearest railroad station. A can- 
vas boat was used on the lake, as it is 
very shallow, the average depth being 
not over three feet. This region, beyond 
question, is the most promising of the 
known fields for the protection and preser- 
vation of water-fowl and several other 
birds, that exist in the United States. The 
water surface in the proposed reservation 
covers an area of about 120 square miles. 
Many thousands of water- and shore-birds 
breed annually, and countless other 
thousands, including swans, use the lakes 
as resting- and feeding-places during the 
spring and fall migrations. Among the 
breeding birds are Canada Geese, of 
which over a thousand young birds were 
counted within the distance of one mile 
along the shore, many species of Wild 
Ducks, Ring-billed, California and other 
Gulls, White Pelican, Farallone Cor- 
morant, Caspian, Black and Forster’s 
Terns, Eared Grebe, White-faced Glossy 
Ibis, Great Blue and Night Herons, Coot, 
and many smaller shore-birds. Many 
large colonies of the species named were 
discovered. 


were 


2A2 


“Until a few years ago, thousands of 
Snowy Herons made this their summer 
home, but we saw only one bird. The 
plume-hunters are responsible for the 
disappearance of this beautiful species; 
they killed in the summer of 1886 
enough birds to produce $8,000 worth 
of plumes. The slaughter was continued 
in 1887, 1888, and 1889, and as high 
as $400 a day realized. When 
we visited Klamath county in 1905, we 
thought that the Grebe-skin traffic had 
been practically stopped; however, we 
have facts now to show that plume-hunters 


was 


have been at work continually since, and 
have been shipping plumage direct to 
New York. We have questioned many of 
the old settlers and others as to the abun- 
dance of water-fowl, and we find them 
plentiful yet. They count Ducks, Geese, 
and Swans by acres here, not by numbers, 
during the migratory period, but it is the 
unanimous opinion that the numbers do 
not compare with even six or eight years 
ago. The birds are going, and there is 
no question about it. We must have a good, 
big reserve down here. It will make the 
most important reserve in the West, and, 
with Klamath reserve, will equip Oregon 
and the Pacific coast to preserve the 
water-fowl.”’ 

The three new reservations just set 
aside by President Roosevelt will necessi- 
tate a very large increase in our outlay 
For the Key West 
reservation, it will only be necessary to 


for wardens’ service. 


employ a guard from three to four months, 
covering the breeding period, unless fur- 
ther investigation shows that the Keys are 
used as a bird resort, when the warden 
would have to be employed for a longer 
period. At Klamath Lake Reservation, it 
will be necessary to employ one good man 
with a first-class power-boat, by the year. 
To properly guard Malheur Lake Reser- 
vation will take at least two good men, 
and possibly three. Lakes Malheur and 
Harney are so shallow that an ordinary 
power-boat cannot be used, and the war- 
dens must depend on row-boats. Mr. 
Finley suggests that it might be possible 


Bird- Lore 


to use a small stern-wheel boat. One man 
cannot guard one hundred and twenty 
square miles of territory, when he has to: 
depend on a row-boat for transportation. 

These two reservations have been such 
a mine of wealth, in the past, to plume- 
hunters and market-shooters that they 
are not going to abandon their illegal 
traffic without a desperate struggle. It 
will, therefore, be necessary for this Asso- 
ciation to select not only men of the very 
highest character and intelligence, but 
those who have the hardihood to fill the 
position. Plume-hunters and market- 
shooters in that section are law-breakers, 
and, when cornered, rarely hesitate to 
shoot, even though a human life is the 
sacrifice. This Association now has an 
opportunity to create an ideal wild-bird 
breeding-place, probably the greatest in 
the United States. To do it, however, is 
going to entail a large expense, which 
must be provided for. At the present time, 
the resources of the Association are strained 
to the utmost limit, and, therefore, the 
money to properly guard the new and 
greatest of our reservations must be fur- 
nished by new people. 

The sportsmen of the country should 
consider it a duty as well as a privilege to 
furnish means to guard these great breed- 
ing and feeding grounds from market- 
hunters. The public ought to be interested 
in the economic as well as the esthetic aspect 
of the case, and should willingly furnish all 
the financial support the Association needs. 
Funds are wanted at once, as the wardens 
should be on the ground at this time, in 
order to prevent shooting during the present 
autumn and the early winter, when the 
birds are on the southward migration. 
The question is often asked, ‘How can 
I give wisely.”” No wiser or greater bene- 
faction can be proposed than to give to 
this Association a large sum, to be known 
as the Warden Fund, the interest from 
which to be used in perpetuity to pay the 
salaries of the brave men who spend 
months in loneliness and hardships to 
guard the birds of our land from ruthless 
men. —W. De 


KEY WEST RESERVATION 
For Protection of Native Birds 


FLORIDA 


Embracing all Islands segregated 
by broken line and designated 
“Key West Reservation 


DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 
GENERAL LAND OFFICE 


Fred Dennett, Commissioner 


Erecutive Order 


It is hereby ordered that all keys and islands of the Florida Keys group, 
between latitude 24° 27’ and 24° 40’ north, and longitude 81° 49’ and 82° 10” 
west from Greenwich, as the same are shown upon coast survey chart No. 170, 
and located within the area segregated by the broken line shown upon the dia- 
gram hereto attached and made a part of this order, are hereby reserved and set 
aside for the use of the Department of Agriculture as a preserve and breeding 
ground for native birds. This reservation is subject to, and is not intended to 
interfere with, the use of “ Marquesas Keys”? for life-saving purposes, reserved 
by Executive Order of March 12, 1884, nor with the use of “Man Key” and 
“Woman Key,” reserved for naval purposes by Executive Order of June 8, 1908; 
nor is it intended in any manner to vacate such orders. This reservation to be: 
known as Key West Reservation. 

[No. 923] THEODORE ROOSEVELT. 
The White House, August 8, 1908. 


(233) 


KLAMATH LAKE RESERVATION 
For Protection of Native Birds 
OREGON AND CALIFORNIA 


Embracing all islands in Lower Klamath Lake andall Marsh and Swamp Lands 
in Ips:39, 40 and 41 5. Rgs.8. and 9, and Tp-4/5.R.10 all East of Willamette Mer. 


R 
a Be 


DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 
GENERAL LAND OFFICE 


Fred Dennett, Commissioner 


(234) 


The Audubon Societies 235 


Executive Order 


It is hereby ordered that all islands situated in Lower Klamath Lake, and 
the marsh and swamp lands unsuitable for agricultural purposes in townships 
thirty-nine, forty, and forty-one south, ranges eight and nine, and township 
forty-one south, range ten, all east of the Willamette Meridian, Oregon, and in 
townships forty-seven and forty-eight north, ranges one, two and three east of 
Mount Diablo Meridian, California, and situated within the area segregated 
by a broken line, as shown upon the diagram hereto attached and made a part 
of this order, are hereby reserved and set aside for the use of the Department 
of Agriculture as a preserve and breeding-ground for native birds. The taking 
or the destruction of birds’ eggs and nests, and the taking or killing of any species 
of native bird for any purpose whatever is prohibited, and warning is expressly 
given to all persons not to commit within the reserved territory any of the acts 
hereby enjoined. This order is made subject to and is not intended to interfere 
with the use of any part of the reserved area by the Reclamation Service acting 
under the provisions of the act approved June 17, 1902, or any subsequent 
legislation. This reserve to be known as Klamath Lake Reservation. 


THEODORE ROOSEVELT. 
The White House, August 8, 1908. 


[No. 924] 


LAKE MALHEUR RESERVATION 


For Protection of Native Birds 
OREGON 


Embracing all least subdivisions touching the shore lines 
of Lakes Malheur and Harney and their connecting waters 
in Tps. 25 §. R§s. 32, 322 and 33, Tps. 26S. R¢s.29, 303132 
and 33. and Tps. 27 S. Rés.29 292,30 and 32 all east of 
Willamette Meridian, Oregon. segregated by broken line 
ee designated “Lake Malheur Reservation” 


ie Ie a ee ee ee ee el ee 
mie fells [lol =[el= lle [= fel: 
ae EEE ACCES eieateielaiy 
25 28 26 go 28 26 25 28 | 27 26 
CE 


Boel Jalal 

ES Bae : | 
= fey fe i Sf | 
| 
= || | 


“DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR. 
GENERAL LAND OFFICE 


Fred Dennett, Commissioner 


Lrecutive Order 


It is hereby ordered that all smallest legal subdivisions which touch the shore- 
line of Lakes Malheur and Harney and the streams and waters connecting these 
lakes in township twenty-five south, ranges thirty-two, thirty-two and one-half 
and thirty-three; township twenty-six south, ranges twenty-nine, thirty, thirty- 
one, thirty-two and thirty-three; township twenty-seven south, ranges twenty- 
nine, twenty-nine and one-half, thirty and thirty-two, all east of the Willamette 
Meridian, Oregon, together w ith all islands and unsurv eyed lands situated within 
the meander lines of said lakes and connecting waters, as segregated by the 
broken line shown upon the diagram hereto attached and made a part of this 
Order, are hereby reserved, subject to valid existing rights, and set aside for 
the use of the Department of Agriculture as a preserve and breeding-ground for 
native birds. The taking or destruction of birds’ eggs and nests, and ‘the taking 
or killing of any species ‘of native bird for any purpose whatsoever, except under 
such rules and regulations as may be prescribed by the Secretary of Agriculture, 
is prohibited, and warning is expressly given to all persons not to commit within 
the reserved territory any of the acts hereby enjoined. This reserve to be known 
as Lake Malheur Reservation. 


[No. 929] THEODORE ROOSEVELT. 
The White House, August 18, 1908. 


(236) 


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By ERNEST INGERSOLL 


LIFE OF ANIMALS: The 
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Among Other Issues in the Two Series of 


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GUNS, AMMUNITION AND TACKLE 
THE SHOTGUN, by CAPTAIN A. W. MONEY; THE HUNTING RIFLE, 
by HORACE KEPHART; THE THEORY OF RIFLE SHOOTING, 
by W. E. CARLIN; THE PISTOL AND REVOLVER, by A. L. A. HIM- 
MELWRIGHT, and THE ARTIFICIAL FLY, by JOHN HARRING- 
TON KEENE 


THE SPORTING DOG 
By JOSEPH A. GRAHAM. Fully illustrated 


PHOTOGRAPHY FOR THE SPORTSMAN NATURALIST 
By L. W. BROWNELL. Fully illustrated from photographs by the author 


IN PREPARATION 


THE BEAR FAMILY 
By DR. C. HART MERRIAM. With many illustrations 


COUGAR, WILD CAT, WOLF AND FOX 


With many illustrations 


Cloth, cr. 8vo, gilt top and cover design. Each, $2 net. Postage, 15c. 


THE MACMILLAN COMPANY, Publishers, New York 


“If I could give a child but one book this year, it would be this,” 
was said of 


MABEL OSGOOD WRIGHT'S 
GRAY LADY AND THE BIRDS 


STORIES OF THE The book will be welcomed by adults 
BIRD YEAR almost as heartily as by younger readers. 
FOR SCHOOL For teachers and parents and all who 


believe in bird protection, it provides a 
means of sharing their pleasure in bird life 
with the children just when they will most 
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With thirty-six plates in 
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dependable, but it is far more than that; 
it is a fascinating book of stories, a glimpse 
into the riches of poetry and fancy asso- 
under the supervision ciated with feathered things. 


of its President, 


in colors, from studies 
made for the National 
Audubon Association 


Decorated cloth, xx | 437 pages 
Mr. William Dutcher $1.75 net; by mail, $1.go 


By MABEL OSGOOD WRIGHT, author of 
BIRDCRAFT A Field Book of Two Hundred Song, Game 


and Water Birds. With 80 full-page plates 
by Louis AGASSIZ FUERTES. 


Eleventh Edition, xii + 317 pages, 
flexible cloth, rounded corners, $2 net 


and, with Dr. ELLIOTT COUES 
CVTIZ.EN BIRD SCENES FROM BIRD-LIFE IN PLAIN 


ENGLISH FOR BEGINNERS. Profusely 
Illustrated by LOUIS AGASSIZ FUERTES. 


Cr., 8 vo. $1.50 net, postage 17 cents 


This was described by C. H. M., in Science, as “ by far the best bird book for 
boys and girls yet published in America,” and the statement has remained undisputed 
up to the publication of ‘‘Gray Lady and the Birds,” which is by one of its authors. 


THE MACMILLAN COMPANY, Publishers, New York 


J. HORACE MCFArLAND CO., MT. PLEASANT PRiCS, HARRISBURG, Ae 


A New Book by “Barbara” 


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THE OPEN WINDOW 


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Cloth, 12mo, with frontispiece, $1.50 


THE OTHER DELIGHTFUL BOOKS BY ‘‘BARBARA”’: 


The Garden of a Commuter’s Wife. tustrated from photographs 


“* Reading it is like having the entry into a home of the class that is the 
proudest product of our land, a home where love of books and love of nature go 
hand in hand with hearty simple love of ‘folks.’ . . . It is a charming 
book.’’—The Interior. 


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“©The whole book is delicious, with its wise and kindly humor, its just 
perspective of the true values of things, its clever pen pictures of people and 
customs, and its healthy optimism for the Bredt world in general.’’—Phila- 
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The Woman Errant 


““The book is worth reading. It will cause discussion. It is an interesting, 
fictional presentation of an important modern question, treated with fascinating 
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At the Sign of the Fox 


“‘Her little pictures of country life are fragrant with a genuine love of nature, 
and there is fun as genuine in her notes on rural character. A traveling pieman 
is one of her most lovable personages; another is Tatters, a dog, who is humanly 
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The Garden, You and | 


“* This Acai is simply the best she has yet put forth, and quite too deli- 
ciously torturing to the reviewer, whose only garden is in Spain. 332 eee 
delightful humor which pervaded the earlier books, and without which 
Barbara would not be Barbara, has lost nothing of its poignancy, and would 
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doesn’t know a pink from a phlox or a Daphne cneorum from a Cherokee 
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Each, in decorated cloth binding, $1.50 


THE MACMILLAN COMPANY, Publishers 
64-66 FIFTH AVENUE, NEW YORK 


$1 a Year 
NOVEMBER—DECEMBER, 1908 20c. a Copy 


EDITED BY 


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COPYRIGHT, 1908, BY FRANK M. CHAPMAN 


Bird=- Lore 


November - December, 1908 


CONTENTS 
GENERAL ARTICLES PAGE 


FRONTISPIECE IN COLOR. DERBY, BEARDED, OLIVE-SIDED, AND CouES’ FLYCATCHERS 
Bruce Horsjall.. 


THE SEA BrirDs’ Fortress. Illustrated ...... sai wa medida serSe ie oa eee A: C. Bent .29237 
Ecret GRouP IN THE AMERICAN Museum oF NaturaAL History. Illustration.. 245 
Tae DRUMMING OF THE RUFFED GRouSE. Illustrated........ ...-. E. J. Sawyer.. 246 
CANADA RUFFED GROUSE. Illustration ......... dose peeoke ae Henry R. Carey.. 249 
THE UsE oF A BLIND INTHE StupDy OF Birp-Lire. Illustrated.. Frank M.Chapman.. 250 
AVEHR ASHER PREEND ss [ustratedsc.cc-j. ences Gees oe eee ae eae Emeline Maddock.. 253 
A SOUTHERN ILLInoIs LuNcH CouUNTER. Illustrated.............. Laura F. Beall... 255 
Brrp-Lore’s NINTH CHRISTMAS BIRD CENSUS ......22c2--c20c0ceeeec see cee Boe AS 9 
THE MIGRATION’ OF FLYCATCHERS, SEVENTH PAPER. Illustrated by Louis Agassiz 
Puertes awe Brucevehors ali. ccna see eee ea ee W.W. Cooke.. 258 
SONG SPARROW. Piistratrouis: 266 a) ase bee ee oes seers A. A. Saunders.. 259 
NOTES FROM FIELD AND STUDY}. 2... ico ee ace 260 


A WINTER Brirp Resort, F. M. Bennett; SEA BrrDS AND WHALERS, Illustrated, 
Roy C. Andrews; THE WIT OF A FLORIDA NIGHTHAWK, Angus McKinnon; THE 
DICKCISSEL ON PINE RIDGE INDIAN RESERVATION, SouTH Dakota, H. Tullsen; 
MIGRATION IN NEW Mexico, L. D. Tricks; CENTRAL PARK Notes, Ludlow 
Griscom; SONG OF KIRTLAND’S WARBLER, Louise B. Mayer; RARE BIRDS IN 
PROSPECT PARK, BROOKLYN, N. Y., Edward Fleischer; ARRIVAL OF WINTER 
BIRDS IN Cuicaco, F. A. Pennington; ANNUAL CONGRESS OF A. O. U. 


BOOK NEWS: AND: REVIEWS, 2s2e0 252 os cmct een see a ee eee 260 
THE ORNITHOLOGICAL MaGAzINEs; Book News. 

EDUCATIONAL LEAFLET NO. 35. Ture AMERICAN AND WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILLS 
WITH COLORED PLATE By Bruce Horsfall.............+......Mabel Osgood Wright.. 270 

AUDUBON: EXECUTIVE: DEPARTMENT -.~. oi cilo. 2 2 aeees pone oe ee ee eee 274 


Notices of change of address, renewals and subscriptions should be sent to 
BIRD-LORE, HARRISBURG, PA. 


TO SUBSCRIBERS: 


Subscribers whose subscription expires with this issue will find a renewal 
blank enclosed in the present number of the magazine. On receipt of your 
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Members and Contributors to the National Association of Audubon 
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Entered as second-class mail matter in the Post Office at Harrisburg, Pa. 


BIRD-LORE fu 
CHRISTMAS 


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Reduced 
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ture of a drumming reproduced 
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PRESENTED TO ALL SUBSCRIBERS 
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On 


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MY BEST REMEMBERED CHRISTMAS A NEW ENGLAND CHRISTMAS 


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“JANUARY of the best-known AMERICAN GAME 
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List of Subjects 


The Plates 

CANVASBACK Vieawiine 
PTARMIGAN ( Winter and Il x 8% 

Summer) ae 
aa bins and aside 
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BRUCE HORSFALL. 
429028 


1. DerRsey FLycATCHER 3. OLIVE-sSIDED FLYCATCHER 


2. BEARDLESS FLYCATCHER h 4. CouEs’s FLYCATCHER 


Hird=- Lore 


A BI-MONTHLY MAGAZINE 
DEVOTED TO THE STUDY AND PROTECTION OF BIRDS 


OrFriciAL ORGAN OF THE AUDUBON SOCIETIES 


Vol. X NOVEMBER—DECEMBER, 1908 No. 6 


The Sea Birds’ Fortress 


By A. C. BENT 


\ N 7 AY off in the middle of the stormy, fog-bound Gulf of St. Lawrence 
stands lonely Bird Rock, twenty-five miles north of the Magdalen 
Islands and sixty miles from Cape Breton. 

It forms the northeastern end of a chain of dangerous ledges, lying in the 
path of vessels passing in and out of the St. Lawrence River, and is important 
enough to be protected by a first-class lighthouse. Its red sandstone cliffs rise 
for a hundred feet or more straight up from the sea, and even on the smoothest 
day the waves thunder against its base, as they rise and fall with the ocean swell. 

The only human inhabitants of this isolated rock are the lighthouse keeper 
and his family. They are visited twice a year by the government supply boat, 
bringing provisions, newspapers and mail, but, aside from this, they seldom have 
any communication with the outside world unless some stray fisherman lands 
there from necessity, or some wandering bird student comes along to study the 
sea birds in their summer home. 

During the long winter nights, when the gulf is closed to navigation, they 
have nothing to do, no light to maintain and no fog whistle to manage. Yet 
they say they feel their loneliness even more in the summer when they longingly 
watch every passing sail, hoping for visitors, but are generally doomed to disap- 
pointment. No wonder that they welcome the return of their feathered friends 
in the spring, and no wonder they were glad to see us. 

We had engaged an experienced mariner, the owner of a staunch schooner 
and the hero of many a successful smuggling trip, to take us from the Magdalen 
Islands to Bird Rock on a certain date; but on our arrival at Grand Entry, the 
northernmost port, we found, to our disgust, that he had just gone off on a three 
weeks cruise elsewhere, without the slightest consideration of his promise tous. The 
only other available craft, fit to make the trip, which is a dangerous one at best, 
was a sea-going tug which, on investigation, we found was hopelessly disabled. 
We were face to face with the two alternatives, to give up the main object of our 
trip and go home beaten, or to make the trip in an open boat, a hitherto unac- 
complished feat, except by a few hardy fishermen. But we secured the services 


238 Bird - Lore 


of a daring, young lobster fisherman, strong, hardy and experienced, who had 
weathered the storms of twenty-four hard northern winters, and who volunteered 
to take us, as soon as a favorable opportunity arrived. After days of fog, rain, 
storms and gales, all too frequent on that coast, the looked-for opportunity came 
when a light westerly wind had smoothed down the sea after an easterly blow, 
and we started in his seaworthy little boat, seventeen feet long, carrying two 
small sprit-sails. Though we could plainly see Bird Rock, twenty-five miles 
away, a red spot on the northern horizon, prudence suggested that we sail first 
to Bryon Island, only twelve miles away, where we could find a safe harbor, 
in case of necessity, and push on to Bird Rock the next day, if conditions were 


EAST END OF BIRD ROCK FROM THE SEA 
favorable. But we were persuaded to change our minds by the “ King of Bryon 
Island,” a venerable patriarch, the owner of the island, and a veritable monarch 
of all he surveys, for he controls the most valuable lobster-fishing rights of that 
region, as well as the destinies of the fishermen; he would like to have kept us 
over night, with a view to interesting capitalists from the states in the purchase 
of his profitable estates, but with true regard for our interests he advised our 
pushing on that night, as he thought it would blow a gale in the morning, and 
experience proved that he was right. So, laying in a stock of bread and a few 
bottles of water, we started at 5:30 that night for the last leg of our journey. 
It was well that the sea was smooth, for to land on that rugged Rock is bad enough 
at any time, and when there is any sea running it is impossible. 

It seemed a long twelve miles as we plied the oars to help us along in the 


The Sea Birds’ Fortress 239 


light breeze, and the sun was fast sinking to the horizon, illuminating the great 
red cliffs of Bird Rock, lined with white rows of nesting Gannets; we were still 
some distance from it at sunset, and we were not anxious to pick our way among 
its dangerous rocks after dark. But our skipper was equal to the task when the 
exciting moment came; as the great cliffs towered above us in the moonlight, 
we saw a lantern coming down the ladder to show us where to land, and we ran 
in among the thundering breakers; there was a crash which brought us to our 
feet in terror, as we struck an unseen rock, but the next wave carried us over 
it and landed us among the rocks and flying spray. We were overboard in an 
instant, struggling in the surf, for the boat was rapidly filling, as wave after wave 
broke over us. A few moments of rapid work served to unload our baggage and 
attach a stout line to the boat, the signal was passed aloft, and the powerful 
steam winch above hauled her up high and dry. We then had time to shake 
hands with our genial host, the keeper of the lighthouse, who had been watch- 
ing us ever since we left Bryon Island. Loading our baggage in the crate to be 
hoisted up, we climbed up the long ladders, among clouds of screaming seabirds, 
over a hundred feet to the top of the rock, where we found a hearty welcome 
awaiting us from Captain Bourque and his family. No doubt they were glad 
to see us, for we were the only people who had landed on the rock since last 
November, excepting some fishermen who visited them in May. It is a lonely 
life they lead, but they are brave and cheerful souls, and know how to make 
the best of the surroundings. They live well in spite of the fact that their market- 
man calls but twice a year. Of course, there were many questions to be asked 
and much news to be discussed, for which their eager minds were hungry. After 
supper the festivities began; a graphophone was brought out and a whole trunk 
full of songs and other music reeled off; one of the girls could play the accordion, 
which did duty as an orchestra while the rest of us danced, sang and made merry 
well into the night. It was a great event for them, and we almost forgot that we 
had come to photograph birds. 

But the morning found us out bright and ae moments were golden and 
not to be wasted in sleep, the wind was blowing a gale, as predicted, and clouds 
of seabirds were drifting about the rock in a bewildering maze, ten thousand of 
them in all. There were great white Gannets sailing on long, powerful wings 
tipped with black, clouds of snowy Kittiwake Gulls hovering in the air, hundreds 
of swift-winged Murres and Razor-billed Auks darting out from the cliffs, and 
quaint little parties of curious Puffins perched on the rocks. There was a con- 
stant Babel of voices, the mingled cries of the varied throngs, deep, guttural 
croaks and hoarse grunts from the Gannets, a variety of soft purring notes from 
the Murres, and sharp piercing cries from the active Kittiwakes, distinctly pro- 
nouncing the three syllables for which they are named, as if beseeching us to 
“keep away” from their precious nests. 

Climbing down the ladders to one of the broader ledges, I fired away plate 
after plate, with a ‘Reflex’ camera, at the constant stream of Gannets floating 


240 Bird - Lore 


by on broad and powerful wings, riding on the gale without an effort, one of 
Nature’s triumphs in the balancing of forces. I surprised one old fellow fast 
asleep on the ledge, with his head tucked under his wing; and carried him to 
the top of the cliff where we could study him more closely. Nearly all the broader 
ledges were white with nesting Gannets, sitting as close as they could sit on their 
crude nests of kelp and rockweed, each bird covering one, large, dirty egg, origi- 


o- & 
“ > it, 
pest LF 


GANNETS ON THEIR NESTS 


nally white but now stained with the red mud from the sandstone rock. They 
live peaceably enough among themselves, but their awkward movements result 
in many broken eggs, and they are far from neat in their habits. Carelessness 
and lack of neatness are characteristic of all the Pelican family, to which the 
Gannet belongs, and must indicate a low order of intelligence, for birds as a rule 
are very neat and keep their nests scrupulously clean. 

The Gannets show their lack of intelligence in other ways; their brains are 
very small in proportion to their size, and they are very stupid birds, gawking 
at the intruder with a most helpless and idiotic expression, or stumbling over 
each other in their efforts to escape, often rolling the eggs out of the nests in 
their attempt. How different they are in this respect from the keen-witted Ruffed 
Grouse, who springs suddenly into the air, covering her eggs as she leaves, and 
dodging out of sight in an instant. No wonder the Gannets have been clubbed 
to death on their nests by the fishermen in search of bait, until they are well 
nigh exterminated from all but the most inaccessible cliffs! 

The beautiful little Kittiwake Gulls are birds of another feather, and form 
one of the most attractive features of Bird Rock. They are cliff-dwellers indeed, 


The Sea Birds’ Fortress 241 


for their nests are scattered all over the perpendicular face of the frowning 
cliff; every available little ledge or shelf is appropriated by them, and it is remark- 
able to see how narrow a shelf will serve to support their nests of seaweed; they 
must be securely built to support the weight of parents and young on such an 
apparently insecure foundation, and at such a dizzy height above the dangerous 
rocks and thundering surf. But they seemed to be successful in hatching their 
two, or sometimes three, speckled 
eggs and raising the tiny gray balls 
of down to maturity. A swing over 
the cliff in the crate was necessary 
to see them at close quarters, and a 
most interesting hour was spent in 
this way. 

Standing securely in the stout 
box we were lifted from the ground, 
the long arm of the derrick swung 
outward into space, and we were 
lowered gradually down the face of 
the cliff, a novel and delightful way 
of calling on the birds that were 
nesting on its ledges. 

At first a startled cloud of Gulls 
flew out and circled about us, pro- 
testing that we “keep away,” but 
they soon settled down again on 
their nests, where we photographed 
them at our leisure. They were 
confiding little fellows, and would sit 
quietly on their little shelves within 
a few feet of us, turning their beau- 
tiful snow-white heads to look at us, 
but showing no signs of fear. They 
were the daintiest birds of all with 
their delicate pearl-gray backs and 
bright yellow bills, making the pret- 
tiest of pictures as they sat upon their 
eggs, or stood brooding over their 
tender young protecting them from 
the sun. 

The crate was then lowered to 
another ledge where a party of 
Murres were sitting on their eggs. 
These innocent sea birds build no KITTIWAKES ON THEIR NESTS 


242 Bird - Lore 


MURRES ON THEIR NEST-SITES 


nests at all; their eggs are long and pointed, so shaped that they will roll 
around in a circle instead of rolling off the narrow ledge, where they are laid 
on the bare rocks; the eggs are subject to great variations in color, several 
shades of blue, green and white, handsomely marked with dark brown and 
black, in spots, stripes and irregular scrawls. We were soon on intimate terms 
with them as they stood upright in dignified rows, like so many soldiers, or sat 


MURRES’ EGGS 


upon their eggs and watched us. 

Most of the Murres were 
nesting on the lower ledges, 
which were generally quite in- 
accessible, though if we had had 
more time we might have found 
some way to photograph them. 

There were many other inter- 
esting subjects for the camera 
on the top of the rock where the 
curious little Puffins or ‘Sea 
Parrots’ could be seen sitting 
in little groups on the edge of 
the precipice, all ready to launch 
out into space if we came too 


The Sea Birds’ Fortress 243 


near. They were guarding the entrance to their homes—burrows in the soil 
under the rocks or under the grassy turf. If we had dug them out we should 
probably have found a bird in each burrow crouching over her single white 
egg at the farthest end. She would not offer to fly away, and we could easily 
stroke her back or pick her up, but we must look out for her sharp and 
powerful beak, which could inflict quite a wound. 

On the upper ledges, just below the top of the cliff, the Razor-billed Auks 
were domiciled, where they had crawled into every available crevice or under 
every overhanging rock to lay their single eggs on’ the bare ground. The eggs 
were not quite so pointed as the Murres,’ and were usually white with spots 
and markings of dark brown and black. 


RAZOR-BILLED AUKS ON THEIR NEST-SITES 


They were very tame and unsuspicious birds; if we sat still for a few mom- 
ents near their nests they would fly up and alight within a few feet, eying us 
curiously and grunting their expressions of satisfaction or disapproval. I should 
have had some fine pictures of them but for an unfortunate accident by which 
the plates were spoiled. 

One of the features of the trip was our visit to North Bird Rock, three tall 
pinnacles of red sandstone rock rising out of the sea, three-quarters of a mile 
away. A dory was lowered in place of the crate and we rowed over, landing 
with difficulty on a flat rock at the base. A cloud of Kittiwake Gulls flew from 
their nests on the cliffs as we landed. We managed to scale the first cliff by 
helping each other up from ledge to ledge, passing the cameras up as best we 
could. As I raised my head over the top I found myself face to face with a Gannet, 
in fact a whole colony of them, and a more surprised lot of Gannets I never saw. 


244 Bird - Lore 


The whole flat top of the rock was literally covered with their nests, from which 
they were beating a hasty, if not graceful, retreat. A few of them held their 
ground and sat stolidly on their nests until we had photographed them at our 
leisure. One of the pinnacles was absolutely inaccessible, a secure retreat, its 
flat top white with nesting Gannets. 

But before we had used up all our plates a signal was fired from Bird Rock, 
warning us to return; the barometer was falling and a blow was not far off; 
our genial host was sorry to part with us, but prudence suggested that if we would 
reach the Magdalens in safety, with our frail craft, we must start that night. 
The two days had been far too short to accomplish all we wanted, but we hurriedly 
packed up our belongings, bade farewell to our kind friends and started. Part- 
ing salutes were fired, handkerchiefs, : weaters, and finally table cloths were 
waved, as the light northeast wind carried us away from Bird Rock, and the 
four lonely figures on top faded out of sight. 

The wind soon died out to a dead calm, we were twenty-five miles from 
Grosse Isle, darkness coming on and every prospect of a dangerous gale ap- 
proaching. But we were not helpless, there were two oars in the boat and four 
of us to man them. It was a hard night’s work, with half hour shifts at the oars, 
but we stuck to it and finally reached the welcome beach at Grosse Isle just 
before sunrise. We were tired and sleepy, but we had made the first trip to Bird 
Rock in an open boat.” 


2 GANNETS AND NESTS ON NORTH BIRD ROCK 


Bsuvy “HH Aq payunouw sparq {yyeys OFT aonAg poured punodsyoug 


AYOLSIH IVYNALVN JO WAASAW NVOINGANV FHL NI dNOWD LANOAN 


VOIu 


The Drumming of the Ruffed Grouse 


By EDMUND J. SAWYER 
Illustrated by the Author 


ming. I failed, but got several sketches of the birds from life, seeing scores 

of performances at a distance of forty feet. This was in Franklin county, 
New York. My second attempt, made the following spring in Chenango county, 
was more successful, as the accompanying illustrations show. 

My method was to go out early in the morning or just before sunset, and, 
guided by the sound of the drumming, find the logs used by the Grouse. Locat- 
ing a log well suited to my purpose, I would build a rough shack or “blind,” 
just large enough to cover me while sitting on the ground. The blinds were made 
of spruce or cedar boughs or slabs of bark, according to the surroundings and 
material nearest at hand. Several of the shacks were used, all being placed 
within about twenty feet of the Grouse while drumming. In one case some large 
slabs of bark, placed against a convenient old board fence at the edge of a wood, 
formed a neat blind which allowed me to watch a Grouse drum repeatedly, 
and secure two of the photographs shown, from a distance of eighteen feet. 
Usually, in order not to frighten the birds, I made the blinds and arranged my 
camera in position about midday, when the Grouse were most likely to be out 
of sight and hearing. 

In the morning the drumming is generally first heard at daybreak, but a 
Grouse will often spend the night on or near his drumming log and drum from 
time to time through the night. In order to witness the drumming in the early 
morning, therefore, I spent the night in my blind. To watch the Grouse in the 
afternoon period I entered the blind about three o’clock. It was sometimes 
two or three hours later before the bird first appeared, and occasionally I waited 
in vain till sundown. 

After once seeing a Ruffed Grouse drum, even from a distance of forty feet, 
it was difficult for me to conceive how any one could be mistaken at that distance 
as to the bird’s way of performing the act. For the beating of the wings may 
be easily followed at first,—though their exact outline, of course, is lost during 
each lightning stroke, and may be seen to remain essentially the same, only 
faster, till the end. 

We will suppose now that we are in a blind, say twenty feet from a drumming 
log. After being repeatedly deceived into expectation by chipmunks, red squirrels 
mice and Chickadees, we hear another rustling in the dry leaves which our 
strained attention does not mistake. It is a measured patter of running feet 
or a slow tread just heavy enough to crunch the leaves at every step or two, 
and occasionally snap a dry twig. The next instant a cock Grouse hops to the 
top of the log; his head is erect; his feathers lie close to his sides and, for a creature 
as wild as any that haunts the woods, his whole manner shows only serenity, 


(246) 


[: the spring of 1907 I attempted to photograph a Grouse in the act of drum- 


The Drumming of the Ruffed Grouse 247 


and a modest self-satisfaction. The next instant he turns crossways of the log, 
the head is raised, the feathers of the neck and the black ruff expanded by the 
Same act, the tail is spread, and at the same time the wings beat the air three 
or four clearly distinct times with a muffled whir at each beat—such is the force 
of the stroke—and then hang straight down for an instant, as also between the 
strokes just described. Now begins the part of the drumming which is so familiar 
to many as a distant rumble and characteristic wood sound. As the interval 
between the strokes, which at first is about a second, gradually shortens the bird 
assumes a more and more horizontal position until at the end, when the drumming, 


DRUMMING RUFFED GROUSE 
Enlargement of the following photograph retouched by E, J. Sawyer 


has become one prolonged whir of the constantly moving wings, the head sets- 
down close to the shoulders. In the latter part of the drumming the outline 
of the wings is entirely lost in a gray haze which, however, serves to show the 
extent of their motion; they are held just free from the sides and fluttered rather 
than flapped at the close of the act. In the first part of the drumming it may 
easily be observed that the tips of the wings are brought as far forward as the 
feet and backward about to a hor‘zontal position. The tail lays flat on the log: 
if the latter is large. The only device I can think of which seems calculated 
closely to imitate the rapid drumming is a soft, yet solid, rubber ball dropped 
on the top of a velvet-covered wooden vessel. I have often compared the tone: 


248 Bird - Lore 


of the wing-beats with the sound made by striking my leg just above the knee 
with the lower (little finger) side of my clenched hand. 

One point which should have prevented the belief that the noise is made 
by the wings striking the bird’s perch is the characteristic uniformity of the 
sound which is of the same nature as the well-known hum of this bird’s wings 
in flight. It does not vary, as would be 
the case in thumping against different 
kinds of wood in various stages of decay. 

Most of the drumming logs are old 
and more or less moss-covered; the bark 
has quite disappeared from many, but 
they are solid enough to afford the Grouse 
a good foothold, though often consider- 
ably worn away, when barkless and 
somewhat soft, by long continued use of 
the grasping feet. When a spot has 
been used for drumming even a week 
or two, it begins to have the appearance 
y of a chicken roost. If it is a log, as 
DRUMMING RUFFED GROUSE usual, the ground, especially on one side, 

Untoughed plotograpl front nature and perhaps the top will be fouled at the 
points where the Grouse stands. There are sometimes half a dozen or more 
of these drumming spots on one long log; by these “signs” together with 
a worn:or chafed appearance drumming logs may readily and infallibly be 


known. 

The log shown in the photographs was a section sawed from a large tree. 
It was hollow but otherwise sound. Two similar logs, one end to end with it, 
the other a rod away, were also used by the same Grouse as drumming-places. 
The first day I watched him the bird drummed only from the other two logs, 
while my blind was built nearest and camera focused on the one unused. The 
next day before the bird appeared in the afternoon I placed sticks over the entire 
length of two of the logs, leaving untouched the log nearest my blind and camera. 
After two hours’ waiting the Grouse first appeared on one of the brush-strewn 
logs. He tried his wings in a few places on this log, and then actually drummed, 
though the tips of his wings brushed the sticks about him. He then walked along 
the log, gingerly picking his way among the sticks, looking evidently for a better 
spot, and soon went to the other brush-covered log where he drummed several 
times. Still hampered by the brush, he finally hopped to the log before my 
camera where all seemed to his satisfaction, for he remained here a long while, 
drumming repeatedly. That evening I added enough brush to the troublesome 
logs to prevent drumming on them, and had no farther difficulty in that way, 
the Grouse thereafter coming directly to the desired place. 

The photograph made of the bird just mentioned, showing a side view, 


The Drumming of the Ruffed Grouse 249 


was taken about the middle of the drumming period and given one second’s 
exposure. My camera, by the way, merely a regular 4x5, ten-inch bellows 
machine, had to be placed with the lens only four or five feet from the subject. 
It was covered loosely with a green hood and spruce boughs and operated by 
means of a fifteen-foot tube with bulb, from my blind. 

The drumming ended (the entire act lasts about ten seconds) the Grouse 
immediately raises his head and raises and expands his tail by one motion, 
which seems involuntary as if from the exhilaration of his late effort, the tail 
slowly falling again to its usual position. The bird may now stand motionless, 
apparently listening for several minutes until the drumming begins again as 
before. I have heard or seen at close range at least a hundred of the performances. 
Each of these could be described as above, excepting a very few times when, 
after few preliminary wing beats, the bird suddenly stopped, being interrupted 
by some unusual sound such as the bark of a dog, scream of a Hawk, snapping 
of a twig in my blind, or even a sight of me. 


CANADIAN RUFFED GROUSE. 
Photographed at Snoeshoe Lake Me., by Henry R. Carey 


The Use of a Blind in the Study of Bird -Life 


By FRANK M. CHAPMAN 


first importance that they be unalarmed by one’s presence. While in some 

comparatively rare instances a species may not have acquired fear of man 
or may, fortunately, have learned to trust him, man’s presence is always a more 
or less disturbing element, if not to the bird in question, at least to other species 
with which it may chance to become associated. With bird as with man, the 
consciousness of being under observation induces more or less artificialty of 
manner, and if one would gain true insight into either bird life or human life, 
ones subject should be unaware that they are the objects of scrutiny. 

It sometimes happens that one finds, already existing, a place which affords 
effective concealment, but this is exceptional and, in the end, it will be found 
necessary to employ an artificial blind. 

I must confess that when writing ‘Bird Studies with a Camera’ I did not appre- 
ciate the necessity for a hiding-place which not only permitted one to photograph 
but to see. But whether or not one uses a camera, a blind will be found to be 
of the greatest assistance in securing the proper point of view. 

It is the first requisite of such a blind that it be easily transportable; it should 
also be inconspicuous, and so simple in construction that it may be quickly 
erected. The results of my first attempt (1900) to make a structure which would 
fulfil these requirements was a ridiculously complicated affair of upright sticks 
and iron hoops around which was placed a can- 
vas, painted in the somewhat distant semblance 
of bark. This affair was supposed to be an imi- 
tation tree trunk, and it illustrates how far one 
may be carried on the wrong road by a false 
premise. The fundamental error in this case was 
the belief that the blind must be like some object 
in nature. As a matter of fact, this is not neces- 
sary. It should be as unconspicuous as possible, 
and it is often more quickly accepted if it be 
partly disguised with reeds, bushes or vines. But 
its chief virtue is its immovability. It may excite 
suspicion for a time, but its inanimateness finally 
wins and, to the birds, it becomes a part of the 
landscape to be perched on if convenient. 

This at least has been my experience with the 
blind from the shelter of which most of my studies 
of birds have been made. In brief, this blind is an 
umbrella opened within a bag long enough to fall to 
the ground. It may be described in detail as follows: 


|: one would study the habits of birds under natural conditions it is of the 


THE UMBRELLA AND 
SUPPORTING RODS 


(250) 


The Use of a Blind in the Study of Bird- Life 251 


The Umbrella—The umbrella employed in making an observation blind, 
is known to the trade as a “sign” umbrella. It agrees with the normal variety 
in size but differs from it in having a large hole in the center. This permits a 
current of air to pass through the blind—a matter of the first importance when 
one spends hours in the little structure on beach or marsh, where it is fully 


In this blind an ordinary umbrella was employed, the covering being sewed to the edge 
(Shoal Lake, Man., June, r901) 
exposed to the sun. The “stick” of this umbrella is a metal tube without the 
usual wooden handle. 

The Supporting Rod.—The umbrella is supported by two brass tubes each 
of the same length as the umbrella, or thirty-three inches. The larger is shod 
with a steel point, by the insertion of a small cold chisel or nail punch, which 
is brazed in position. It can then be readily driven into the ground. At the 
upper end, a thumb-screw is placed. The smaller tube should enter the larger 
snugly and should, in turn, be just large enough to receive the umbrella rod, 
which will enter it as far as the spring “catch”. The height of the umbrella 
may therefore be governed by the play of the smaller tube in the larger, while 
the thumb-screw will permit one to maintain any desired adjustment; as one 
would fix the height of a music rack. 

The Covering.—If the blind is to be used about home, a light denim may 
be employed; if it is to see the harder service of travel and camp-life, a heavier 
grade of the same material will be found more serviceable. In the former case, 
the denim may be sewed to the edge of the umbrella, which then has only to be 


252 Bird - Lore 


opened and thrust into the brass tube which has been set in position, when 
the blind is erected; an operation requiring less than half a minute. 

When traveling, it seems more desirable not to attach the walls of the blind 
to the umbrella. The covering then consists of several strips of material sewed 
together to make a piece measuring 63 x 114 feet wide. The two ends of this 
piece are sewed together at what then becomes the top of the blind, for about 
two feet. The unjoined portion below, becomes the door of the blind. Open- 
ings should be cut in the opposite side, for the lens and for observation. A strong 
draw cord is then run about the top edge of the cloth, so that, before inserting 
and opening the umbrella, one can draw it up, as one would the neck of a bag, 
until the opening corresponds in size to that in the top of the umbrella. The 
draw cord should be long enough to serve as a guy or stay. This covering places 
less strain on the umbrella and may be packed in smaller space than one which 
is sewed to the umbrella and, when in camp, it may be used to sleep on, as a 
covering, as a shelter tent or in a variety of ways. 

The color of the umbrella should be leaf-green. The covering should be sand- 
or earth-colored and should be dyed leaf-green on its upper third, whence it 
should gradually fade to the original cloth color at about the center. Such a color 
scheme conforms to Abbott Thayer’s law that animals are darkest where they 
receive the most light, and palest where they are most in shadow; and therefore 
renders the blind much less conspicuous than if it were uniformly green or gray. 
It is not amiss to run belts of braid about the covering ,sewing them to it at 
intervals and thus forming loops in which, when desired, reeds or branches may 
be thrust. 

In erecting the blind, if circumstances permit, it is desirable to place the 
“door” toward the wind to insure better ventilation. Where the situation is - 
exposed, an additional stay or two may be required. If the camera box is not 
strong enough to sit on, a collapsible artist’s camp-stool should be added to 
the outfit. One cannot spend a half day in such close quarters and observe and 
record to advantage unless one is comfortably seated. This structure weighs 
only a few pounds and when folded may easily be slung on one’s back, becoming, 
in fact, a quickly available “cloak of invisibility” from the shelter of which one 
may see unseen. A blind of this type is shown in position in Brrp-Lore for 
August, 1908, in the article on Fish Hawks. 


A Thrasher Friend 


By EMELINE MADDOCK 


T was during my daily pilgrimages to the wood at the edge of the pasture 
at Spring Lake, New Jersey, where I went to study the birds, that I dis- 
covered a Thrasher, among the many that frequented the spot, which seemed 
peculiarly tame. He never hesitated an instant in coming over to the “lunch- 
table’? which I spread daily for the birds’ refreshment, to partake of its goodies. 
There was something almost uncanny about this little Thrasher; in the gentle 
fearlessness of his intent gaze, and the sweet intelligence shining in his amber 
eyes. At first I mistook him for one of the Thrashers who had buiit a nest in 
a sapling over my shoulder, but soon found out ‘my mistake,—for, though all 
Thrashers looked alike to me at the beginning of the season, I could defy any 
Thrasher at the end of the summer to puzzle me into inability to identify him 
frcm any other of his species. 
The pair of nesting Thrashers, of course, resented the presence of the birds 
attracted to the spot by the food I brought for them, and especially disliked any 


A THRASHER FRIEND 


of their own species about, and they chased away my little tame Thrasher so often 
that I wondered at the persistency of the latter in returning daily to the place. 
At last, his gentle manner lead me to wonder if he could be induced to eat from 
my hand; so one day, I began the taming process by placing a piece of cornbread 
on the tip of my boot as I sat Turk fashion on the ground, and after a little 
hesitancy and some pretty, sidling motions, he jumped up on my foot, and ate 
the piece eagerly. This was the beginning of our friendship, and it needed little 
persuasion after this to induce him to eat from my hand. Several times he came 
up on my knee to eat the cornbread I held, even when there were some on the 


(253) 


254 Bird - Lore 


ground which he could have taken. Two or three times, when his meal was 
over, he would rest on the tip of my boot, and take a nap, and I would grow 
tense with the strain of absolute quiet in every muscle, afraid to breathe for 
fear of frightening him. 

He loved to bathe in the pan of water I kept filled for the birds to drink 
from, and sometimes he would go, afterwards, to the little earth-hollow which 
was the exclusive property of the female nesting Thrasher, and cuddle in there 
for a sun-bath, which of course meant a fight, for she would oust him in a tiny 
fury, and twice he came over to me for refuge, where she dared not follow him. 
Another time, after taking his bath, he came over to a tiny hollow just at the 
edge of my skirt, where he flattened himself into a round ball in the sunshine, 
glancing up at me occasionally in the gentle, sweet way he had that was so infi- 
nitely winning. One action of his was peculiarly winsome, and that was the 
strange, exquisite courtliness of his attitude when approaching to eat from my 
hand; as a rule he would lift his pretty wings till they met over his back, 
though sometimes he merely extended them sideways slightly. “May I have 
some, please ?”’ he seemed to ask, by this gentle courtesy. 

On July 20, he disappeared, and to say I missed the little fellow would be 
to state it mildly. Day after day I hoped against hope that he would return, 
but Thrashers were getting scarcer every day. It was August 14, when he finally 
returned, and it took me three days to recognize him, for he looked larger, and 
was not so pretty, being in a bad state of molt. But the characteristic, pretty 
motion of the uplifted wings was unmistakable, and he was soon eating out 
of my hand again as tame as ever. After September 5, he again disappeared, 
and this time I feared I had seen him for the last time. But on the 
13th when I entered the wood, he was there; he looked so different, however, 
that I failed again to recognize him at first, for his molt was over, he was trim 
and pretty, and his feather markings were unlike the old, frayed-out plumage. 
He roosted on a bough in front of me, and began to sing through his closed beak, 
—a song as clear and sweet, though not so loud, as any Thrasher melody heard 
in May or June,—indeed he was full of song, his sides vibrating, and his long 
tail shaking with the energy of his vocal efforts. The following day he was there 
again, and this time I sat on the ground, holding out the cornbread, and then 
recognized the bird as he flitted close to my hand, raising his wings in his own 
dainty, graceful manner. This was the last time I saw him; and I have often © 
wondered since whether he knew how much I loved him? And he? He left 
no shadow of doubt in my mind as to the depth of his love for cornbread! 


A Southern Illinois Lunch Counter 


By LAURA F. BEALL 


OR many winters we kept a lunch counter for the birds at our home 
k in southern Illinois, and found so much pleasure in watching our feathered 

neighbors and saw so many quaint antics, that a little history of it may 
not be without interest. 

The beginning of it was a box fastened on a limb of a cherry tree that grew 
about twenty feet from the kitchen windows; in that we placed bread crumbs, 
bits of suet, and scraps of almost every kind. Finding how enthusiastically 
this was received, we hung loosely crocheted bags filled with nuts and suet in 
the tree, and tied gourds containing raw peanuts in the windows. 

After a while we added a shallow tin pan full of different seeds; this was 
placed on the window-sill, carefully fastened so it would not upset when our 
small boarders alighted on it . Often we popped corn and scattered it on the 
ground underneath the tree. This was largely for the delectation of the Fnglish 
Sparrows, who did not go to the box often if there was anything to. be had on 
the ground, and as they were numerous, and had good appetites, we preferred 
to keep them out. They gave no trouble aside from numbers, however, and 
appeared to be respectable, law-abiding citizens. 

One of the bird authorities says the male Downy is anything but chivalrous 
in winter, but the one that patronized our counter was assuredly a cavalier 
“without fear and without reproach.”’ At first we had but the pair, and we 
noticed that they never came together, that the female invariably came first in 
the morning, and that they both carried food away, and always flew in the 
same direction, with it. We wondered a good deal what it meant, and finally, 
one day, we saw three Downies fly into the tree, our pair and another male. 
They all came to the box and ate, and after that all three generally came together, 
and what delightful hours we spent watching their gambols among the branches. 
They would frisk and play, and chase each other in and out with the greatest 
glee imaginable. 

A Chickadee that came to the window one winter had lost one leg, and though 
he was almost as agile, and quite as gay as the rest, his kinfolk were very unkind 
to him, pecking at him, and driving him away whenever they could. He never 
came without a cheery song, and seemed so happy, and gentle, in spite of his 
afflictions, that we loved him more than any of the others. He seemed to care 
more for water than food, and every little while through the day we put out 
warm water for him. But one day we watched for him in vain. Whether he 
was killed, or whether he died a natural death, of course we never knew. 

The gourds at the windows were the especial property of the Chickadees 
and Titmice. After they tasted the raw peanuts they could not be persuaded 
to eat anything else, and one day a Titmouse actually stuffed himself so full 
he could not fly. He sat in a heap on the sill for about an hour, blinking at us 


(255) 


256 Bird - Lore 


occasionally when we looked out at him, and then all at once darted off, and prob- 
ably was back after more in a short time. 

Gradually the counter came to be an all-year affair, and last summer a family 
of young Tits were practically brought up on our sill, being taken there by 
their parents before they possessed the faintest suggestion of a tail, and staying 
there until that appendage was fully grown. And such a clatter! Their yellow- 
lined mouths were open from morning till night, and noise entirely out of pro- 
portion to the size of the birds was issuing from those caverns all the time, except 
when their proud parents—and they, had.reason to be proud of the satin-coated 
little beauties—were putting food in them. We saw the following birds eating: 


WHITE-BREASTED NUTHATCH AT A LUNCH COUNTER 

Photographed by Edwin C. Brown, Minneapolis 
the Downy, Hairy and Red-headed Woodpeckers, the Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, 
Fiicker, Wh te, and Red-breasted Nuthatches, Juncos, Titmice, Black-capped 
and Carolina Chickadees, Song Sparrow, White-throated and White-crowned 
Sparrows, English Sparrows galore, Brown Thrashers, Robin, Catbirds, Towhee, 
Carolina, House, and Winter Wrens, Blue Jays, and last, but not least, the 
‘ovely Cardinal. For several winters we had seven Cardinals regularly, and 
their glowing beauty, thrown into relief by the snow that was covering ground 
and trees, was a sight never to be forgot en. 

One of the most interesting things we noticed was the rapidity with which 
the Nuthatches detected the presence of walnuts. We never saw them unless 
we put out cracked walnuts; then in less than an hour we would hear a yank, 
yank, and there were the Nuthatches. They would remain until the supply 


A Southern Illinois Lunch Counter 257 


of walnuts was exhausted, and then depart to be seen no more until more were 
put out, then they smelled them afar off, and came hastily back. 

These are only a few of the birds seen in the yard, and probably many others 
fed there. Very little time was taken to keep up the lunch counter (a good deal 
was spent watching the little boarders however), and we felt well repaid by their 
evident appreciation, and cunning ways. 

Our success—I had a list every year of nearly a hundred species, seen mostly 
in our own yard—shows what can be done, and easily done, by producing food 
and water, and what protection is possible against their enemies, particularly 
cats, Screech Owls, and small boys. Any one will find it well worth doing. 


Bird-Lore’s Ninth Christmas Bird Census 


HE plan of reporting one’s observations afield on Christmas Day has met 

with such cordial and practical endorsement by bird students throughout 

the country that Brrp-Lore’s Christmas Bird Census may now be con- 

sidered a fixed event, which increases in interest as the accumulating records 

give additional material for comparison. From a total of 25 lists received in 1g00, 
it has grown to 142 lists in 1907. 

Reference to the February, 1901-1908 numbers of Brrp-Lore will acquaint 
one with the nature of the report of the day’s hunt which we desire; but to those 
to whom none of these issues is available, we may explain that such reports 
should be headed by a brief statement of the character of the weather, whether 
clear, cloudy, rainy, etc.; whether the ground is bare or snow-covered, the direc- 
tion and force of the wind, the temperature at the time of starting, the hour of 
starting and of returning Then should be given, in the order of the A. O. U. 
‘Check-List,’a list of the species seen, with exactly, or approximately, the number 
of individuals of each species recorded. A record thould read, therefore, some- 
what as follows: 


Yonkers, N. Y. Time, 8 A. M.to 12 u. Clear, ground bare; wind west, light; tem- 
perature 38°. Herring Gull, 75. Total,—species,—individuals—James GATEs. 


These records will be published in the February issue of Brrp-Lore, and 
it is particularly requested that they be sent the editor (at the American Museum 
of Natural History, New York City) not later than December 28. It will save 
the editor much clerical labor if the model here given and the order of the A. 
O. U. Check-List be closely followed. 


The Migration of Flycatchers 
SEVENTH PAPER 


Compiled by Professor W. W. Cooke, Chiefly from Data 
in the Biological Survey 
With Drawings by Louis Acassiz FUERTES and BrucE HORSFALL 


DERBY FLYCATCHER 


This is a non-migratory species ranging throughout most of Central America 
and extending north to the valley of the lower Rio Grande, in Texas. 


BEARDLESS FLYCATCHER 
A species principally of Central America, from Nicaragua northward, that 
spends the winter at least as far north as central Mexico. A few have been noted 
in southern Texas, where the species arrives in March. The bird breeds 
near Tucson, Arizona; here the first one was noted April 28, 1881, fledged 
young were seen May 29, 1881 and young in the wing, but still fed by the parents, 
June 11, 1903. 
OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHER 
The Olive-sided Flycatcher occurs throughout the United States except in 
the southeastern part, where it is almost unknown outside of the mountains. 
Though it breeds in the mountains as far south as North Carolina, records of 
its movements are rare south of New England. 


SPRING MIGRATION 


» | Avera i 
PLACE gh eate | sarne oe roe pee 
| 

Bilis nim os AIN Ce Vere ts reece suenene nee eaeey May 24, 1872 
Chepachet,wiR Wee abe cyan ee tee May 24, Ig00 
Eastern Massachusetts............... 5 May 24 May 20, 1902 
Monadnock eNipiitves ei eee ee 2 May 20 May 18, 1903 
St. Johnsbury, Vitter creme eee oe 4 May 23 May 19, 1907 
Southwestern Miaimev pei irae ae 5 May 23 May 20, 1906 
St. johny Ne Bivins accuteee ice eee 4 May 24 May 23, 1891 
Scotch: Wake, (NBst2.) 06-0 ase eee 5 May 26 May 22, 1905 
lalifax: ING Sec ctlghinntic it, squeegee 2 May 28 May 26, 1903 
Montreal Ouesa asset oe cece / May 31, 1892 
Godbout; Ques. Sater ee. eee eee | June 6, 1883 
St “eos: Mio vasa Pey ete ieee a eee eae May 8, 1886 
WiiHeattl ancl clin clespyees ets ere eee eras May 12, 1885 
Unbanasalilbs ci cwecqeeriats ene ees ae May 12, 1904 
London, (Ont... 22 02a rte cle oem lee May 13, 1900 
Chicago Tlic hei Semebs canoeataae 7 May 24 May 20, 1898 
Hillsboro; Ways vos itisnces edhe ee ees 5 May 19 May 15, 1895 
Eanes boro, Miniter co eeicneen sites eee 4 May 25 May 23, 1891 
Huachuca Mountains, Ariz........... April 20, 1902 
Loveland? Colo cmsrisino cea ieysens sane May 11, 1887 
Columbia: Falls} Monti cee e aesceine | | May 21, 1897 
Pasadena, Califsvs. cee tere ne ae oe April 24, 1896 
Corvallis) Ore gis. @ sae ede oe May 4, 1906 
Tacoma: Washi. ecu cce eke ee May 15, 1904 
Fort: Kenai; Alaska: .oseser me nies May 26, 1869 


(258) 


The Migration of Flycatchers 


FALL MIGRATION 


259 


The earliest fall record on Long Island is August 19, 1888; the average date 
of arrival for three years, at Lanesboro, Minn., is August 6, the earliest date 
being August 3, 1890; the average of four years at Hillsboro, Iowa, is August 
25, the earliest, August 23, 1899; the earliest fall date in southern Louisiana 


is August 16, 1903. 


FALL MIGRATION 


PACEM Cop IVE INE Moth ok BSc cayeyatalts enya evn 
WaMeS DOLOr Vln Tee oer ¥e yeni ap alesaeheln ac): 
AGS OKO Lays st te Nhe wre cae Re Aaa ae 
Edaunkeri exo UN bie eae Al aS ae RES PR ARS 
Ey licre eegm Sit ley be sete, fs, auc fsatteatedabarte eaunes 
PEO MISH ML Oe ven athe, =) scoaegs Oa 
SCOLC LMM ace MINGE Bw oiieaen certs eseleres! ts 
Sires OTIaPIN 4 Bererieianthe sc situenrecdee lence uns 
iFetieiitetexonmIN oe Gti hay eo hts oo toe ae oan eo 


[emainetig ONS SAE EI eae ls Ouse nee irae 
Basadencdm@aliive 24 0p. chet ch treet ee 


Number 
of years’ 
record 


ALD 


ne 


Average date of 
the last one seen 


August, 29 
September 
September 
September 


(o/) 


~~ 


August I0 
September 5 


Latest date of the 
last one seen 


September 4, 1907 
September 9, 1888 
September 10, 1899 
September 15, 1808 
September 14, 1875 
September 25, 1885 
August 12, 1903 
September ro, 1894 
September 3, 1902 
September 14, 1897 
September 18, 1g00 
September 26, rg00 
September 26, 1896 


COUES’S FLYCATCHER 


Southern Arizona and northern Mexico comprise the range of this species. 
In Arizona it seems to be found only in summer and breeds in the mountains 
from 6,000 to 10,000 feet. The earliest date for Arizona is March 29, 1903, in 
the Huachuca Mountains, and the latest, September 4, 1884 in the Santa Cata- 
lina Mountains. A straggler was taken at Fort Lyon, Colorado, April 20, 1884. 


SONG SPARROW 


Photographed by A. A. Saunders, New Haven, Conn. 


Potes from Field and Study 


A Winter Bird Resort 


The writer as an incident of his vaca- 
tion, spent a considerable part of the past 
winter in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and 
while there made it a practice to land fre- 
quently to observe the manifold bird life 
of the region. Originally expecting to see 
only native Cuban birds, my delight may 
be imagined when on the very first excur- 
sion into the thorny tropical jungles J began 
to see familiar faces and feathers and rea- 
lized that I had found the winter quarters 
of some of our well-known North American 
birds. 

The first home bird that I saw, the iden- 
tification of which was complete and led 
me to look for other friends from home, 
was an Oyen Bird. I saw this bird, or at least 
an Oven Bird, on several subsequent 
occasions always In the same locality and 
always busily walking about the ground 
picking up the morning meal. My favorite 
landing place, on Caracoles Point, is unin- 
habited; there is no shooting there, and 
the birds are consequently remarkably 
indifferent to men as well as remarkably 
numerous. I could walk up so close to 
the Oven Bird without alarming it that 
my field-glasses were of no use, and my 
experience was the same with many other 
species, both Cuban and North American. 

Warblers were very numerous, and I 
identified other of our birds whose plum- 
age or characteristics are unmistakable, 
even to an amateur, such as the Black and 
White Warbler, the Black-throated Blue 
Warbler (both male and female), the 
Tennessee Warbler, the Redstart, the 
Phoebe, and the little Blue-gray Gnat- 
catcher. The latter was especially numer- 
ous, and properly so, for there are certainly 
gnats enough for them in those briery 
Cuban thickets. The sweet little song of 
this Gnatcatcher is about all the bird 
music one hears in this season and region, 
the other birds that I have mentioned being 
silent except for a short chip or cheep that 
seems to be a sort of hunting cry with 


them. Mockingbirds and Brown Pelicans 
are very plentiful, but I believe they are 
on their native heath in these West India 
Islands. 

I had it in mind to observe the North 
American birds closely as spring ap- 
proached in order to fix the dates of their 
departure on the northern migration, 
but naval duty prevented. The middle of 
March the whole fleet sailed from Guanta- 
namo Bay to conduct the annual record 
target practice, and I had to say farewell 
to my birds, leaving them in their winter 
homes. 

It is difficult to close these notes with- 
out mentioning some of the beautiful and 
very numerous Cuban birds of land, sea 
and shore that one sees about this region. 
Some of these, as the Tody, a lovely little 
bright green bird with a red throat, a 
gorgeous Woodpecker, a brilliantly marked 
Trogon, and black Orioles with golden 
trimmings, are so strikingly handsome 
that it is to be regretted they do not live 
in the United States where more people 
might see them. There are Humming- 
birds of several species, various Herons 
and a curious black bird with a parrot-like 
beak that I take to be the Ani. The big 
Mangrove Cuckoo is often seen, and an- 
other and much larger species of Cuckoo 
(Saurothera) is even more numerous. This 
latter is a rich brown-or bronze-colored 
bird with a remarkably silent and stealthy 
manner of moving about in the tree tops, 
scarcely moving the leaves, and their 
flight is owl-like and gloomy without a 
sound. A more uncanny object I have 
never seen in feathers.—F. M. BENNETT, 
(US SioJNFe 


Sea Birds and Whalers 


Last summer, while on board the whal- 
ing steamers which ‘‘fish” along the west 
coast of Vancouver Island, I saw an inter- 
esting way in which sea birds make them- 
selves of considerable use to the sailors. 
The whales feed on a small shrimp about 


(260) 


Notes from Field and Study 


half an inch in length which at times dur- 
ing the day float at the surface, staining 
the water a light pink. These minute 
animals also furnish food for countless 
schools of herring and great flocks of 
Gulls, Petrels and Terns. The birds are a 
welcome sight to the men on the vessel for 
when they are seen circling above the 
water, “feed” is sure to be plentiful and 
the whales easy of approach. It was here, 
from the steamer Orion, that I had my 
first sight of the Black-footed Albatross. 
Although the ‘‘ Gonies,” as the sailors call 
them, never came in the bays or close to 


261 


ANDREWS, American Museum of Natural 
History, New York City. 


The Wit of a Florida Nighthawk 


During the season of 1904, while plow- 
ing the last furrow for the evening in a potato 
patch, I saw a Nighthawk flutter off in the 
grass as if her wing were broken. After 
carefully searching the place from which 
it started, I found two eggs lying on the 
bare ground, their dark color making them 
very inconspicuous. This last furrow came 
very near to the eggs, and it was evident 


eset 


BLACK-FOOTED ALBATROSSES 


Photographed by Roy C. Andrews 


when the vessel was fifteen or 
twenty miles at sea, she would be sur- 
rounded by numbers of the great, brown 
birds which followed her from dawn until 
dark. Sometimes with slow, steady wing- 
beats they would fly beside the harpoon- 
gun at the bow, or, skimming just above the 
surface of the water, alight, daintily hold 
‘their wings on high and carefully fold them 
without wetting even the tips of the feathers. 
The birds showed no fear of the men on 
the vessel, sometimes coming so close for 
scraps of food that one could almost touch 
them by leaning over the rail. 

As I was hunting whales I made but few 
attempts to photograph this most northern 
_ representative of the family, one picture 
of which is presented herewith.—Roy C. 


shore, 


that they would come in the way when 
we continued plowing the next day. Ow- 
ing to the very dry weather, we planted 
only a few rows each evening. 

I left the eggs undisturbed, and forgot 
all about them and the bird until the next 
evening, after I had already plowed past 
the place where the eggs were the first 
evening, when suddenly the Nighthawk 
flew off as it had done the evening before. 
On the ground were the two eggs. Now, 
if this was the same bird, it had moved its 
eggs about fifteen feet farther from the 
plowed ground than they were when first 
found. By watching two or three succeed- 
ing evenings, I became convinced that 
it was the same bird and that it had moved 
its eggs every day about the same distance 


262 


from the plowed ground, for just as we were 
finishing for the evening the bird would 
fly off of her eggs. 

The evening after the last plowing,— 
after we had planted all we wanted,—I 
went to the place, and after considerable 
search found the eggs where they had been 
moved a short distance from the last 
furrow. I visited the place on several 
succeeding days, and found that the eggs 
were not moved after the potato planting 
was finished.—ANcus McKInNnon, De 
Funiak Springs, Florida. 


The Dickcissel on Pine Ridge Indian 
Reservation, South Dakota 


For a period of nearly three years I 
closely observed the avifauna of Medicine 
Root creek, a stream of Pine Ridge Indian 
Reservation, in southwestern South Da- 
kota. The period in mention extended 
from October, 1gor, to July, 1904, when 
during this time not a single Dickcissel was 
seen by me. In July, 1907, when I paid 
a visit to this creek, and rode nearly its 
entire length of about twenty-five miles, 
I saw and heard at one point, on a broad 
place in the valley, about twelve miles from 
its confluence with Big White river, a 
half-dozen or two of the birds in question, 
among some plum trees and wolf-berry 
bushes. I may here state that during the 
period of approximately three years, men- 
tioned above, I had observed, as oppor- 
tunity permitted, the bird life of a large 
portion of the reservation, a tract of land 
about 100 long by 60 miles wide; and during 
this time I had seen none of these birds 
anywhere in the region. Of course they 
are to be looked for only along the creek 
valleys. Among the semi-arid hills and 
higher plains they are not to be found. 

The Dickcissels seen by me on Medicine 
Root, in July, 1907, however, were not the 
first to be observed in the interval extend- 
ing from the close of my first three years’ 
observation of the birds of the reservation 
to that date. I left the reservation in July, 
1904, and returned on April 22, 1905, tak- 
ing up my station on Grass Creek, some 
thirty or thirty-five miles west of my former 


Bird - 


Lore 


location on Medicine Root creek. I 
remained here until August, 1906. This 
creek, for the most part, has a broad plain 
with many small trees and bushes and 
wolfberry shrubs,—conditions favorable, 
one would think, for the habitat of the 
Dickcissel. I saw nothing of this species, 
however, along Grass creek proper, at 
any time. But on July 9, 1905, I saw one 
of these birds, a male, in a little valley that 
opens upon the plain of Grass creek, and 
about a mile to the west of the point where 
the two valleys join. The bird was seen 
in a clump of bushes near a pool of stag- 
nant water. It is to be suspected that the 
female bird was near by, and that both 
may have been in the vicinity for some 
time. 

The next summer (1906), on Wounded 
Knee creek, some five miles to the east of 
Grass creek, I saw, on June 13, one Dick- 
cissel, a male. Shortly afterwards I noted 
several of these birds. They were seen 
among some plum trees and wolfberry 
shrubs, and were distributed at intervals 
along atract about half a mile in length. 
The next summer(1907) when passing by 
on horseback, I saw them along this tract 
again, and, I estimate, in increased num- 
bers. The year before, (August, 1906), 
I had been transferred to Lake creek, 
about forty-five miles to the southeast of 
my former station on Medicine Root. 
That summer I saw no Dickcissels at my 
new station, but the following year (1907), 
they appeared suddenly, in large numbers, 
on June 13—mark the date!—and became 
immediately common. The quality of the 
bird music of the valley was suddenly 
changed, and the notes of the Dickcissels 
were heard above all others. About two 
weeks after the above date I found a nest 
containing four eggs. 

From the observations given above we 
must conclude that this erratic Bunting 
has recently come to Pine Ridge Reser- 
vation, and is increasing in numbers there 
with each visit.—H. TULLSEN. 


Migration in New Mexico 


The autumnal tide of Warblers began 
to flow down upon Fort Stanton, New 


Notes from Field and Study 


Mexico, August 28, after ten days of, 
for us, hard rains and somewhat cooler 
weather. 

Fort Stanton, an old army post, is now 
used as a sanitarium for tuberculous sailors 
of the United States Merchant Marine. 
It has an elevation of 6,632 feet and is 
situated on the eastern side of the White 
mountains, an isolated peak which rises 
to a height of 10,000 feet. 

In order to reach the well-wooded 
mountain sides birds coming from the 
north or northwest are compelled to cross 
a sandy desert of quite seventy-five miles 
in extent. 

After reaching this point, the small 
birds appear to follow the water-courses 
in a southeasterly direction; perhaps pre- 
ferring to trust themselves to the shelter 
of the trees along the banks rather than 
to risk another dusty flight across the 
barren plains. Then too, they reach a 
warmer climate sooner by dropping into 
the Pecos valley than they would were they 
to keep due south at this elevation. 

The first Warbler seen was on the after- 
noon of August 28, This wasa “‘ Pileolated 
Warbler.” On the 29th they were more 
numerous and on the 3oth all the cotton 
woods around the fort and on the Bonito 
were filled with them. On September 1, 
only a very few were to be seen, but strag- 
glers continued to drop in until the 22d. 

On August 30, three Macgillivray 
Warblers were seen in the underbrush along 
the river, or brook, as the Bonito would be 
called back East. They were extremely shy, 
differing greatly in this respect from their 
cousins, and it was much easier to hear 
their shrill peet peet of alarm than to see 
the bird. They were more abundant dur- 
ing the first week of September but were 
never numerous and were always more 
or less shy. 

During the spring migration they were 
quite numerous and easily watched either 
on the ground or in the bushes. 

On August 30, and again on September 
I, one Western Water-Thrush was found. 
—L. D. Tricks, Post Adjutant Surgeon, 
United States Public Health and Marine- 
Hospital Service. 


263 


Central Park Notes 


A Grackle Incident 


On the morning of May 9g, while walk- 
ing through the lower end of Central Park, 
Miss Crolius, of this city, and I saw a 
Grackle flying heavily over a field with a 
bird, which was uttering cries of distress, 
in its claws. The Grackle evidently did 
not know enough to obtain a firm grip, for 
its captive was able to struggle violently. 
The interesting fact was that the bird was 
evidently not a nestling, but an adult. It 
is well known that Grackles often eat 
young birds, but I have never heard of 
their capturing and carrying off fully 
grown ones. 


Tennessee Warbler 


I identified a fully adult female of this 
species on the morning of August 20. It 
was very nervous and restless, and, as it 
fed, it uttered a sharp tsit. This same bird 
was seen again that afternoon by Mr. 
George E. Hix and myself. I also saw it 
the next morning. An interesting fact was 
that it was found in exactly the same place 
all three times. This Warbler has always 
been very rare here. 


Cape May Warbler 


This generally rare Warbler has turned 
up several times in the Park this autumn. 
Below I give the dates of occurrence: 

September 22, one young male; Septem- 
ber 24, one male; October 1, one young 
female. 

All three birds were seen in company 
with Blackpoll Warblers which have been 
exceedingly abundant this autumn. 


Mourning Warbler 


Miss Crolius and I watched a female of 
this rare Warbler for over an hour on 
August 6. It was very shy and spent its 
time in thick clumps of rhododendrons, 
occasionally walking on the ground and 
stretching up to pick insects off the lower 
leaves. While feeding, it gave a whispered 
sip, as if it were talking to itself. When 
alarmed, it uttered a sharp chuck, very 
much like the call-note of the Water- 


264 


‘Thrush in quality. Once or twice it flew 
up to a branch about fifteen feet from the 
ground and sat perfectly still watching us. 
After a time it would fly down again into 
the bushes and resume its feeding. This is 
the first fall record of this Warbler for 
the Park, and, indeed, I believe it is very 
rare at this season in the neighborhood of 
New York City. 


Connecticut Warbler 


A young bird of this species was seen 
by Miss Anne A. Crolius and Mr. Stanley 
V. Ladow, September 22. I have also 
seen it twice in the immediate vicinity of 
the city. 

Myrtle Warbler 


I saw an individual of this species 
in fall plumage August 28. This is three 
weeks earlier than it is usually seen in this 
neighborhood. 


Yellow-bellied Flycatcher 


This Flycatcher was almost common in 
the August migrations. I have records of 
six individuals, the first having been seen 
on the 16.—LupDLow Griscom, New Vork 
City. 

Song of Kirtland’s Warbler 


A Kirtland’s Warbler positively identi- 
fied May 16, 1908, at La Grange, Illinois, 
sang at intervals while busily feeding; 
the songs seeming to vary slightly as fol- 
lows: We-chee, we-chee, we-chee, chee-ree- 
eee! Or wWwe-seé, we-see, see-see-rrrrrr! or 
we-see-see-see-rrrrrrrr! It was always 
marked by the softness of the first notes 
and prolonged accent of the last; the vol- 
ume increasing, also, and the final sound 
having the quality of a prolonged + or re. 
The song is unusually loud and clear for 
a Warbler’s song and possesses a peculiar 
sweetness that, once heard, will not soon 
be forgotten.—Lovutsr B. Mover, La 
Grange, Illinois. 


Rare Birds in Prospect Park, 
Brooklyn, N. Y. 


It is not necessary to go “‘far from the 
madding crowd” in order to see birds. 


Bird - Lore 


In Prospect Park, Brooklyn, I have ob- 
served 98 species since January 1, 1907, 
and my list will certainly pass the century 
mark long before the year is over. Some 
of the more noteworthy records are the 
following: 

Black-crowned Night Heron, February 
2; Carolina Wren, February 22, February 
28,—a rather common fall migrant; Pine 
Siskin, March 12, March 21; Turkey Vul- 
ture, March 19; Olive-sided Flycatcher, 
June 12; Red-headed Woodpecker, Sep- 
tember 14; Cape May Warbler, September 
17; Pigeon Hawk, September 27.— 
EDWARD FLEISCHER, Brooklyn, N. Y. 


Arrival of Winter Birds in Chicago 


" Scarcity of food owing to dry weather, 
forest fires in the northern country, or 
other and perhaps more usual causes, 
seems to be hastening the winter birds. 
southward, and the coming season prom- 
ises to be a good one for winter observa- 
tions. 

On November 7, I saw a pair of Evening 
Grosbeaks on the Wooded Island in Jack- 
son Park, Chicago. They were perching 
quietly in a clump of small trees, were not 
at all wild or timid, and gave me an excel- 
lent opportunity to observe them. Pres- 
ently they flew down to the edge of the 
lagoon and drank, and I have never seen 
a more pleasant sight in bird life than these 
two Grosbeaks made standing side by 
side in the frosty morning sunlight dipping 
up water. 

On November 8, I found a flock of 
Pine Siskins in the south part of Jackson 
Park. They were making themselves very 
much at home about the trees and shrub- 
bery and in the grass, Some English Spar- 
rows took offense at their presence and 
assailed them time and again. The Sis- 
kins yielded their ground very reluctantly, 
and came back each time as soon as the 
Sparrows had gone. 

On the same day, just south of the Park, 
on some vacant land, part of which is 
under cultivation and part overrun by 
weeds and wild grasses, I encountered a 
small flock of Snow Buntings. I have been 


Notes from Field and Study 


so accustomed to associating Snow Bunt- 
ings with wintry storms and snow-blown 
fields that the sight of these birds here in 
a cabbage patch on a sunny mid-autumn 
morning was a surprise to me. 

I may add that the season here has been 
unusually mild and pleasant, and so the 
early arrival of these winter birds seems 
GE ines lise gal 


all the more worthy 


PENNINGTON, 


The Twenty-sixth Annual Congress of 
the American Ornithologists’ Union 


The Twenty-sixth Annual Congress of 
the American Ornithologists’ Union was 
held in Cambridge, Mass., November 
16-19, 1908. 

At the business meeting held in William 
Brewster’s Museum on the evening of 
the 16th, the election of officers resulted 
as follows: President, E. W. Nelson; Vice- 
Presidents, Frank M. Chapman, A. K. 
Fisher; Secretary, John H. Sage; Trea- 
surer, J. Dwight, Jr.; Councilors, Ruth- 
ven Deane, William Dutcher, H. W. 
Henshaw, F. A. Lucas, Chas. W. Rich- 
mond, Thomas S. Roberts, Witmer Stone. 

F. DuCane Godman, of London, was 
elected an Honorary Fellow, and Otto 
Herman of Hungary a corresponding 
Fellow. Between eighty and ninety Asso- 
ciate Members were elected. 

The public sessions of the Congress were 
held in the Museum”of Comparative Zo- 
ology, about one hundred members of var- 
ious classes being in attendance. 


& 


PROGRAM 


TUESDAY A.M. 


Experiences of an Ornithologist in Costa 
Rica, M. A. Carriker, Jr., Pittsburgh, Pa. 

Canadian Bird Havens, Ernest T. Seton, 
Cos. Cob, Conn. 

A Hollow Tree, Ernest T. Seton, Cos. Cob, 
Conn. 

Ornithological Miscellany from Audubon 
Wardens, B.S. Bowdish, New York City. 

Scarcity of the Ruffed>Grouse in 1907, E. 
Seymour Woodruff. 


265 


TUESDAY P.M. 


A way to lighten the burden of Nomencla- 
ture, Jonathan Dwight, Jr., New York. 
Vernacular names of birds, Jonathan 
Dwight, Jr., New York City. 

Some Observations on the Gulls and Terns 
of Massachusetts (illustrated by lantern 
slides), E. H. Forbush, Wareham, Mass. 


WEDNESDAY A. M. 


Observations on the Black Mamo of 
Hawaii. W. A. Bryan. 

The tagging of wild birds as a means of 
studying their movements, Leon J. Cole, 
New Haven, Conn. 

The part played by Birds in the recent 
Field Mouse Plague in Nevada, C. Hart 
Merriam, Washington, D. C. 

The Position of the Birds’ feet in Flight, 
Chas. W. Townsend. 

The First Bird Protective Society in Italy, 
W. R. Lord. 


WEDNESDAY P.M. 


A study of a breeding colony of Yellow- 
headed Blackbirds, with an account of 
destruction of the progeny of the entire 
colony by some unknown agency (illus- 
trated by lantern slides), Thos. S. Rob- 
erts, Minneapolis, Minn. 

Propagation of Bob-white (illustrated by 
lantern slides), C. F. Hodge, Worcester, 
Mass. 

Methods of study of the Nesting Habits of 
Birds (illustrated by lantern slides and 
moving pictures), Frank M. Chapman, 
New York City. 

Pelican Island in 1908 with other Florida 
notes (illustrated by lantern slides and 
moving pictures), Frank M. Chapman, 
New York City. 


THURSDAY A.M. 


Bird Studies in Northern Ontario, W. E. 
Clyde Todd, Pittsburg, Pa. 

Triumphs of Bird Protection in Louisiana 
(illustrated by lantern slides), Herbert 
K. Job, West Haven, Conn. 

Through Eastern Oregon (illustrated by 
lantern slides, by H. T. Bohlman and W. 
L. Finley), William L. Finley, Portland, 
Oregon. 


Book Pews and Reviews 


THE Lay or THE LAND. By DaAtras 
Lore SHARP. With drawings by Eliza- 
beth Myers Snagg. Houghton, Mifflin 
& Co. Boston and New York. 12mo. 
214 pages, 15 decorative chapter head- 
ings. $1.25 net. 


As a writer of nature literature—we use 
the term in an exact sense—Mr. Sharp 
has unusual qualifications. Added to 
natural gifts as an observer and describer 
of objective and subjective nature, he has 
been trained to realize both the importance 
of accuracy as well as the value of an 
attractive style of presentation. As might 
be expected from this somewhat excep- 
tional combination of natural gifts and 
their proper development, his books take 
high rank among those of their class. 

They can be read as easily as they are, 
evidently, written and we commend the 
present volume to those who like to read 
about out-of-door things without feeling 
that they, as well as the author, are con- 
tinually laboring under high pressure.— 
F. M. C. 


THE Birps oF Maine. By ORA WILLIS 
KNIGHT. Bangor, Me., 1908. 8vo. 693 
pages, I map, 30 half-tone plates. 


The author tells us that “since early 
boyhood” it has been his hope to write a 
book relating to the life histories of the 
birds of his native state, and the present 
volume is therefore the realization of a life- 
long ambition. “For years data regarding 
the nesting and food” of Maine birds have 
been gathered, and some years ago a ‘List 
of Birds of Maine’ was published, which 
“served as a beginning by bringing out 
much information regarding bird distri- 
bution in the state. ie 

The book opens with a key to families, 
and under each family we have a key to 
the species which occur in Maine. Brief 
descriptions of the plumage of each species 
are given, followed by a statement of its 
general geographical distribution and, 
under the head of “County Records,”’ 


a statement of its status in various parts of 
Maine, with the name of the observer 
on whose authority the statement is made. 
After this we have a biographical sketch, 
usually based largely on the author’s 
studies and containing, therefore, much 
original matter. The work, consequently, 
has a general as well as a local value and 
the author is to be congratulated on the 
completion of his task.—F. M. C. 


IN THE OPEN; INTIMATE SLUDIES AND 
APPRECIATIONS OF NATURE. By STAN- 
TON Davis KiRKHAM. Paul Elder & 
Co., San Francisco and New York. 
vii+ 223 pages, 6 full-page half-tones. 
Price, $1.75 net. 

Mr. Kirkham’s beautifully made volume 
is an invitation to the open. “Nature is in 
herself,” he writes, ‘‘a perpetual invita- 
tion: The birds call, the trees beckon and 
the winds whisper to us.” These essays 
treat of a wide variety of subjects, as may 
be gathered from the following titles: 
‘Signs of Spring,’ ‘Bird Life,’ ‘Weeds,’ 
‘Insect Lore,’ ‘The Winter Woods,’ 
‘Laughing Waters,’ ‘The Mountains,’ 
‘The Forest,’ ‘The Sea.’ 

Most of these chapters appear to be 
based on observations made in New Eng- 
land (why are the authors of nature essays 
so chary of dates and places?) but ‘The 
Forest’ was inspired by the conifers of the 
Sierras. 

Mr. Kirkham evidently knows his orni- 
thology and with no uncertain pen, writes 
of birds with the sympathy of a poet and a 
bird-lover.—F. M. C. 


THE CHINA OR DENNY PHEASANT IN 
OREGON, WITH NOTES ON THE NATIVE 
GROUSE OF THE PaciFic NORTHWEST. 
By WitiiAmM T. SHAW, Assistant Pro- 
fessor of Zodlogy and Curator of the 
Museum, State College of Washington. 
Philadelphia, J. B. Lippincott Com- 
pany, 1908. Oblong, 8vo. 24 pages, 
15 full-page plates, one colored. 


The remarkable increase of Phasia- 
nus torquatus in Oregon makes any facts 


(266) 


Book News 


concerning its introduction and _ subse- 
quent history of interest alike to the 
sportsman and the biologist. In this attrac- 
tive little book Professor Shaw tells us that 
this Pheasant was brought to Oregon 
through the efforts of the late Judge O. 
N. Denny while Consul-general to Shang- 
hai. A shipment of seventy birds sent in 
1880 died en route, but twenty-six of a lot 
of thirty birds sent the following year, 
arrived in excellent condition and were 
released in Linn county at the foot of 
Peterson’s Butte. The species was given 
legal protection for ten years and at the 
end of that time it “had become so suc- 
cessfully acclimatized as to withstand the 
most vigorous annual onslaughts,” a 
statement which we wish were accom- 
panied by data in regard to increase and 
a map showing the extent of range-exten- 
sion from time to time. 

In writing of the habits of the Pheasant 
and Sooty Grouse (Dendragapus) Professor 
Shaw records the occasional hybridization 
in nature of these species so unlike in 
habits, haunts and appearance. The full- 
page plates of mounted specimens of 
Oregon Grouse and Quail reflect credit 
on Professor Shaw’s skill as a taxidermist 
and taste as a photographer.—F. M. C. 


The Ornithological Magazines 


THE AvuK.—With the October number 
this steady-going journal completes its 
twenty-fifth volume still under the able 
editorship of Dr. J. A. Allen, who, ever 
since 1884, has done so much toward 
maintaining its high standard of excel- 
lence. The pages before us are bristling 
with local lists or brief contributions to 
them. We note ‘Some Birds of Central 
Alabama’ by A. A. Saunders; ‘Birds of 
the Bellingham Bay Region’ by J. M. 
Edson; a continuation of the ‘List of Birds 
of Louisiana, Part V,’ by Beyer, Allison 
and Kopman; ‘Recent Bird Records for 
Manitoba’ by E. T. Seton; ‘Birds of the 
Region about Needles, California,’ by N. 
Hollister; ‘The Birds of the Rosebud 
Indian Reservation, South Dakota,’ by A. 
B. Regan: and ‘New and Unpublished 


and Reviews 267 
Records from Washington’ by W. L. 
Dawson. None of these calls for particular 
comment although it strikes us that less 
sight and more gun is desirable in some 
cases. When, for instance, we read that 
the Eskimo Curlew is “well represented 
on the Butte Creek flats in June (1904),” 
we wonder what the writer really did see. 
We should also have liked the word ‘‘Wash- 
ington” added to the title of Mr. Edison’s 
article because complete titles are always 
a great convenience to many. 

Mr. Ruthven Deane tells the story of 
‘The Copper-plates of the Folio Edition 
of Audubon’s Birds of America with a 
Brief Sketch of the Engravers.’ The 
plates, 435 in number and weighing several 
tons, were sold for old junk for the value 
of the copper. Some got into the melting 
pot while others were rescued at the last 
moment. The photographs of casts of 
cameos made of the author of this great 
work fittingly accompany an article by Dr. 
C. Hart Merriman on ‘The King Cameo of 
Audubon.’ These intaglios were cut by 
Mr. King in the early ’40’s. 

As for Mr. E. S. Cameron’s ‘Changes of 
Plumage in Buteo swainsoni’ we should 
like to call attention to the fact that no 
series of birds will prove the supposed 
changes unless specimens actually in 
molt are obtained. The gray birds may 
change to brown through wear just as the 
loss of the “frosting’’ of some Terns’ 
feathers produces blacker wings. 

Arecord of a Kirtland’s Warbler seen by 
Mr. J. Claire Wood is open to criticism, 
first because it is of the kind that fills local 
lists with question marks, and, secondly, 
because it encourages young observers to 
think they see in moments of excitement 
what they have read they may see. It is 
always the rarest bird that escapes us 
much as it is always the biggest fish that 
breaks from the fisherman, and we all 
know how different from the bird in the 
bush the bird in the hand has often 
proved to be. And why should Kirtland’s 
Warbler in Michigan, its summer home, 
be recorded at all? Other records in ‘Gen- 
eral Notes’ concern species that have wan- 
dered from their usual habitat.—J. D., Jr. 


268 


THE Conpor.—The July and Septem- 
ber numbers of “The Condor’ still await 
notice. The former, an unusually large 
number, is chiefly made up of local lists, 
which include Mailliard’s ‘Sierra Forms 
on the Coast of Sonoma county, Cali- 
fornia,’ Willett’s ‘Summer Birds of the 
Upper Salinas Valley,’ Gilman’s ‘Birds 
on the Navajo Reservation in New Mexico’ 
and ‘Rockwell’s Annotated List of the 
Birds of Mesa County, Colorado.’ The 
last paper, containing 28 pages illustrated 
with two maps and nine photographs, is a 
model of its kind. It contains notes on 199 
species and is probably the most complete 
local list for any part of western Colorado. 
Other articles are: Dagget’s ‘Bit of Early 
California Natural History’ from Trusler’s 
‘Habitable World Described’ 1788-1795; 
Dixon’s ‘Field Notes from Alaska,’ giving 
an account of the work of one of the parties 
of the Alexander Expedition; and Metz’s 
‘Nesting of the Rocky Mountain Screech 
Owl in Wyoming,’ presumably near 
Sheridan in the northern part of the 
state. 

The September number has but 28 
pages—no more than the longest article 
in the preceding number—but it contains 
several papers on birds of little-known 
areas in California. These papers are: 
Grinnell’s ‘Birds of a Voyage on Salton 
Sea,’ Linton’s ‘Notes from Buena Vista 
Lake,’ and Goldman’s ‘Summer Birds 
of the Tulare Lake Region.’ The forma- 
tion of the Salton Sea was quickly fol- 
lowed by an influx of water birds of various 
kinds, and here was found, this year,‘‘the 
southernmost recorded nesting colony of 
the American White Pelican.’’ The most 
southern point at which the species has 
hitherto been known to breed was at 
Buena Vista Lake in San Joaquin Valley. 
Among the southern breeding records 
given by Goldman for Tulare Lake may 
be noted those of the White Pelican, 
Green-winged Teal, Shoveller and Pintail. 
The notes on the California Sage Sparrow 
and Leconte Thrasher contains the first 
records of the breeding of these species at 
this locality. Among the shorter articles 
may be mentioned Bowles ‘Notes on a 


Bird - 


Lore 


Few Summer Birds of Lake Chelan, Wash- 
ington,’ and Richard’s description of ‘An 
Unusual Nesting Locality for the Rocky 
Mountain Nuthatch,’ near Littleton, Colo- 
rado, ten miles south of Denver, on the 
south branch of the Platte River, at an 
altitude of 5,370 feet. Dixon’s account of 
a ‘Family of Young Duck Hawks’ on Ad- 
miralty Island, Alaska, and Willard’s 
brief “Huachuca Notes’ complete the list 
of papers. The number also contains a 
‘Directory of the Cooper Ornithological 
Club’ including the names and addresses 
of two honorary and 222 active members. 
The deceased members now number seyen- 
teen.—T. S. P. 


Book News 


‘Notes on the Winter Birds of Northern 
Louisiana’ (Proceedings Biological Society, 
XXI, pp. 119-124) is a briefly annotated 
list of birds observed by Arthur H. Howell 
between January 6 and February 7, 1908. 
Skillful work in field and study result in 
the addition of seven species and sub- 
species to Beyer’s list of Lousiana birds. 


Leaflets Nos. 1 and 2 issued by the Ore- 
gon State Biologist are by William L. 
Finley and deal in a practical way with 
the economic value of birds. Leaflet No. r 
discusses this subject in a general way, 
while in No. 2, which is well illustrated 
certain common Oregon birds are treated 
at length. It is to be hoped that the leaf- 
lets will be issued in sufficiently large edi- 
tions to meet the demand which will 
undoubtedly arise for them. 


Miss Ella Gilbert Ives, whose stories 
and poems of birds are familiar to readers 
of Birp-LoreE has issued through the 
Arckelyan Press of Boston a dainty little 
volume Out-Door Music—Songs of Birds, 
Trees, Flowers, etc. Many of the poems 
such as Robin’s Mate, The Little Minister, 
The Goldfinch and Robin’s Proclamation, 
should find their place upon Audubon 
Society programs, while the book will 
make a pretty Christmas gift for a bird- 
lover. 


Editorials 


Bird- Lore 


A Bi-monthly Magazine 
Oevoted to the Study and Protection of Birds 
OFFICIAL ORGAN OF THE AUDUBON SOCIETIES 


Edited by FRANK M. CHAPMAN 
Published by THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 


Vol. X No. 6 


Published December 1, 1908 


SUBSCRIPTION RATES 
Price in the United States, Canada and Mexico 
twenty cents a number, one dollar a year, post- 
age paid. 


COPYRIGHTED, 1908, BY FRANK M. CHAPMAN 


Bird-Lore’s Motto: 
A Bird in the Bush is Worth Two in the Hand 


WitH this number Birp-LORE com- 
pletes its tenth year. It is not for us to 
speak of what the magazine has been or 
of the influence it has exerted. We prefer 
to look ahead rather than behind, and 
are more concerned with the future than 
with the past. 


No single feature of Brrp-LorRE has met 
with greater approval than the colored 
plates of North American birds. The first 
one was published in December, 1903, 
and the series now include the Warblers, 
the Thrushes and the Flycatchers,' the 
concluding plate of which will appear in 
our next issue. 

In response to the requests of many 
subscribers, the Flycatchers will be fol- 
lowed by the Vireos. Because of the small 
number of species in this group and of the 
comparatively limited amount of variation 
in their plumage with age and sex, this 
series will be completed during the year, 
and, still guided by the expressed wish of 
our subscribers, it will be followed by 
plates of the Sparrows. 

As for other illustrations, we trust that 
they will come from the cameras of our 
readers. It is BirD-LORE’s mission to 
inspire a practical interest in the study of 
birds in nature and it particularly urges the 
value of the camera as a means of graphi- 
cally recording one’s observations. The 
use of the camera, however, is not un- 
attended by expense, as every bird photog- 
rapher will testify. To remove this 


269 


objection, therefore, Birp-LoreE will pay 
for all photographs which it accepts for 
publication. 

So far as text is concerned, in the earlier 
volumes of Brrp-Lore, 
the leading 


nine-tenths of 
articles were written by 
request of the editor, and it was our cus- 
tom in this, the last number of the year, 
to announce the principal contents of the 
succeeding volume. This plan made it 
impossible for us to accept many contri- 
butions from our readers and, in our 
opinion, tended to defeat Brrp-Lore’s 
aim to encourage original observation 
with a view to adding to our knowledge 
of birds’ habits. 

We wish, therefore, all Brrp-Lore’s 
readers to consider the magazine’s pages 
at their disposal for the publication of 
observations as worthy of 
record. This includes not only notes for 
the ‘Field and Study’ department but 
more detailed studies. 

The subject of serious and continuous 
studies, especially of the nest-life of birds, 
leads us to say a word in regard to the 
methods employed by some students, who, 
possessing a limitless fund of both pati- 
ence and perseverance defeat their own 
purpose by a failure to comprehend the 
importance of studying 


under natural conditions. 


such seem 


their subject 


For example, we have lately received 
several manuscripts based on prolonged 
studies of the home life of certain birds in 
which the students showed a persistence, 
care and tirelessness deserving of far more 
valuable results than obtained. 
Indeed the results were of little or no value 
wholly because the observers made no 
attempt at self-concealment and conse- 
quently the objects of their study were at 
all times aware that they were under obser- 
vation and hence were either much alarmed 
or, at the best, unnatural. 

Whether, therefore, one proposes to 
study the history of a certain nest or the 
life of a given locality, some form of con- 
cealment is necessary, and for further 
remarks on just what form of a blind may 
be used, we refer to our article on this 
subject on an earlier page. 


were 


AMERICAN CROSSBILL 
WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILL 


By MABEL OSGOOD WRIGHT 


Che Pational Association of Audubon Societies 


EDUCATIONAL LEAFLET NO. 35 


While we may count upon seeing certain species of birds during the migra- 
tions, and are assured that the old favorites that have been known since child- 
hood will nest in the neighborhood, yet the comings and goings of the winter 
visitors are surrounded by a tantalizing uncertainty. 

In the bakers’ dozen of these hardy voyagers of the air, we may, in the eastern 
and middle states, include the familiar Junco, Tree and White-throated Spar- 

rows, the Winter Wren, Brown Creeper, Golden-crowned King- 
Season let, Northern Shrike, the occasional Snowy Owl, the haphazard 

Snowflake, Redpoll, Longspur, and the wholly irresponsible 
Crossbills. At best, the presence of these birds, with the curiously specialized 
beaks, depends upon the presence of cone-bearing trees, for cone seeds are 
their winter fare. 

If on a clear, cold winter morning, soon after a snow-fall, I hear a clear 
metallic call-note high up among the spruces, I know that the Crossbills have 
come. On going out under the same trees to prove the sound by a glimpse of 
the birds themselves, the calling stops, and instead, as I pause to listen and 
focus my glass on a particular bird of bright hue, a rustling noise, akin to the 
falling of dry and somewhat heavy leaves, mingles with a few colloquial twitter- 
ings, as if the birds were talking to themselves, parrot-fashion ; this rustling 
being caused by the shelling off of the cone scales, as the Crossbills feed upon 
the seeds that lie between. 

As for the bird itself, or rather birds, for, as often happens, a mixed flock 
has settled among the spruces. Few of the white-winged species are mingled 
with their more plentiful wholly red brothers, while the mottled olive-green 
of the females and young of both species make the party consist not of birds 
of a feather, but of three distinct plumages, enough in itself to confuse the 
novice who is gazing at the first Crossbill of his experience. 

Let us stand off a bit, back braced firmly against a tree, and examine the 

nearest bird in detail, as he hangs, head downward, on a long cone 
Appearance with all the nonchalance of the up-side-down Chickadee. In 
length the Red Crossbill is a trifle smaller than the English Spar- 
row; the body of the male is a dull brick-red, brighter on the rump and rusty 
in the middle of the back, shading to lead-gray or juscous on the wings. The 


(270) 


BRYCE HIRSFA& 1 
19 O®& 


RED CROSSBILL 


Order—PASSERES Family—F RINGILLIDA 
Genus—LoxiA Species—CuRVIROSTRA MINOR 


American and White-Winged Crossbills 271 


female is of a dull olive-green, with dark mottlings on head and back and some 
white below; while the young may be marked like the female or show a mixture 
of red and green. But one characteristic marks alike male, female and young, 
telling you their family name as plainly as the Chickadee calls his name—the tips 
of the beak, or mandibles, are crossed as if they had been wrenched out of joint. 

There is no other species of bird with a beak precisely like this. Parrot-like 
is a term frequently applied to the Crossbills, but though they live in flocks 
and climb about using their claws very much like hands, in parrot-fashion, the 
likeness does not extend to their beaks. The upper half of the hooked bill of 
the Parrot closes over the lower so as to almost conceal it, but lacks the warp that 
names the Crossbills. So much for identification. 

This Red Crossbill is usually the most common species seen in the eastern 
and middle states, though at times they may be outnumbered by the White- 
winged Crossbill. The latter is a mere fraction smaller in size and differs chiefly 
in having two white wing bars, white on the belly and a decided pinkish tint 
to the upper parts of the body and breast. Both species have a swift dipping 
flight suggestive of that of the American Goldfinch, some of their call-notes 
when on the wing also resembling those of their jolly little yellow brothers. 

While the White-winged Crossbill breeds quite regularly northward from 
the northern United States, and appears only in its winter wanderings as far 
south as Virginia, the Red Crossbill seems to be bound by no law as far as its 
nesting habits are concerned, and it is perfectly possible to find a pair of them 
nesting almost anywhere in New England. Perhaps on account of its being 
the best known species we know more about the nesting habits of the Red 
Crossbill. The nest itself is made of roots and twigs, moss-lined, and is usually 
well up in an evergreen tree; the eggs are dull green, spotted on the large end 
with brown and lavender. : 

Dr. Coues mentions a nest found in Maine in the month of February, and a 

nest has been found in East Randolph, Vermont, so early in March 
Nest that the ground was covered with snow and the weather was 

very severe. The parents were so devoted to their young that 
they could be lifted from the nest by hand. Mr. E. P. Bicknell has also found 
a nest on April 22, in New York near the Connecticut line. Apropos of their 
early nesting is the following note, which appeared in Brrp-Lore: 


NESTING OF CROSSBILLS 

{Sir James M. Le Moine, of Quebec, well known for his works on Canadian birds, 
sends us the following interesting note by a personal friend on the breeding of Crossbills 
in March.—Ep. Birp-Lore.] 

“Quebec, 25th March, 1gor. 

“DEAR Sir JAmeEs: About ten days ago I happened to be with a friend in 
the woods, in the vicinity of the Grand Lac, Bastonnais. In the course of one 
trip we had to visit several lumber camps and were told by choppers that they 
had during the winter, in February and March, cut down many spruce and fir 


272 Bird- Lore 


trees containing nests full of young birds. We refused to believe the story unless 
we saw the ‘young birds’ with our own eyes. 

“At one of the camps we found a man who told us that he would endeavor 
to find a nest that he had thrown aside a few days before which contained three 
young birds. He was away for a short time and returned with one of the young. 
It was only partially fledged and had been hatched, I should say, about ten days 
previously. The young bird was not a Pine Grosbeak, but a Crossbill, of which 
there were thousands all over that section of the country. The cock birds were 
in their courting dress—little balls of scarlet—and singing all day as in early 
June. The nests are made of moss, about the size of a football, walls about two 
inches thick and a small hole for the happy pair to enter their snug little home. 

Sincerely yours: E. Jory Dre LorBINIERE.” 

Oi the White-winged Crcssbill Dr. Coues writes: ‘“The Crossbills of both species 
are birds of the most strongly marked originality of character, and it is never 
safe to predict what they may or may not be found about. Their most remarka- 
ble habit is that of breeding in winter, or very early in the spring, when one would 
think it impossible that their callow young could endure the rigors of the season. 
They are the most devoted parents, seeming entirely insensible of danger in 
defence of their homes; and at all times, indeed, betray a confidence in man 
that is too often misplaced, and that seems the height of folly to one who knows 
as much of human nature as most people find out, sooner or later, to their cost. 

“These birds are much attached to pine woods, the seeds of the conifers 
furnishing them abundant food, of a kind that their curiously shaped bills enable 
them to secure with great ease and address. From their summer resorts in the 
depth of evergreen woods the Crossbills come, flocking in the fall, to all other 
parts of New England and beyond, generally associated with Pine Grosbeaks 
and Redpolls, always gentle, unsuspicious, and apparently quite at their ease. 

“They are not so common, however, as the Red Crossbills are, and both 
species take such freaks in deciding their course of action that their appearance 
can never be relied upon. 

“Tt need surprise no one to come upon a pair of Crossbills breeding any- 
where in New England; . . . for they seem to be quite independent of 
weather or season. 

“Their diet is not so exclusive as many suppose; the birds may sometimes 

be seen helping themselves to decayed garden fruits. Mr. May- 
Food nard has observed them feeding on the seeds of beach-grass, 

and has also found the stomach filled with canker-worms. 
The eggs of this species resemble those of the Purple Finch, and are probably 
indistinguishable from those of the Red Crossbill. Both species of Crossbills 
have a chattering or rattling note, usually uttered as they fly, but their true 
song is seldom heard south of their nesting grounds.”’ (Stearns and Coues, New 
England Bird Life.) 


American and White-Winged Crossbills 273 


Ralph Hoffmann describes the call-note of the Red Crossbill as a “loud 
kip-kip, kip-kip-kip, very like a note made by young chickens,” but to me it 
has a more metallic quality: 

If one has no evergreens immediately about the house, the Crossbills may 
be coaxed to come near by fastening ears of the small kerneled “ popcorn” 
firmly to conspicuous branches or even by unsalted popcorn balls. As might be 
expected, a bird of such unique construction has given rise to many specula- 
tions, some scientific, others legendary and sentimental, as to its origin. If its 
beak is a development to meet food conditions, will it be gradually modified by 
the cutting down of the forests of conifers? Or will it slip away with other 
extinct species like the Auk and the Labrador Duck? 


Questions for Teachers and Students 


(1) Describe the bill of the Crossbill. (2) How does the bird use it? (3) Describe 
the plumage of the American Crossbill. (4) How does the adult male differ from the 
female? (5) What is the range of the Crossbills? (6) Do they come to us regularly ? 
(7) What is their food? (8) At what season do they nest? 


The Audubon Societies 
EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT 


Edited by WILLIAM DUTCHER 


Address all correspondence, and send all remittances for dues and contributions, to 
the National Association of Audubon Societies, 141 Broadway, New York City 


DIRECTORY OF THE STATE AUDUBON SOCIETIES 


With names and addresses of their Secretaries 


Ala bamta. oh. feigeoe serra oe eee eee eee Howarp L, Smiru, care Y. M. C. A., Montgomery 
Arizona........ sthad Saree Fae TCO ERO EE en ene on Mrs. HARRIET B. THORNBER, Tucson 
Galiformia cise oy, Sect ercers nee ie tess a eee ea eine ae a eee Pete eee W. Scott WAY, Box 62, Glendora 
Colorado) ..< 2-2-6. cccccecccnenescmeccoers voeee.-- MRS. MARTHA “A. SHunE, Capitol BuildinessDenver 
Gonnecticut ) ii.) sesso. oes hoe Ooo enn ne Oe eee Mrs. WILLIAM BROWN GLOVER, Fairfield 
Delaware........2..--e20.eeeee see eee seeeeeee-» MRS, WILLIAM S. HILLES, Delamore Place, Wilmington 
District, of Columbia ince ace cece ee ace e eee eee Miss HELEN P. CHILDS, Chevy Chase, Md. 
Miloridaney eS jacics oeiroto wa seein ce Se ae sie a eter Sao alleen oie een ere ee ae inet Mrs. I. VANDERPOOL, Maitland 
Gore ia rst). Soo Pe eels Rotel Sarat totes ha, Baste OR ose oe oe Setane en one Pres. C. D. JORDAN, Monticello 
EMINOIS. 35-2 se he re sce eal See eee a Secs male mies Se cise Miss MArRy DRUMMOND, Spring Lane, Lake Forest 
Indianatse acc don eee ace aes Miss FLORENCE A. Howe, 2043 Hillside Ave., Indianapolis 
Yowat oe enosee net ee aas rears serene as Mrs. WILLIAM F. PARROTT, 302 Franklin St., Waterloo 
KK ansaid ana Sea ee Oe RR eae Oe ee Mr. FRANK E. MCMULLEN, Wichita 
Wonisiatial seco ae ee ee ee CE ee eee aes Miss ANITA PRING, 1682 Peters Ave., New Orleans 
1” Ci ameter ode aes arian ceaind Nanas pipet ese ae sae Mr.ARTHUR H. Norton, 22 Elm St., Portland 
WMarylandize ena) oe ene chine ene Miss MINNA D. STARR, 2400 North Charles St., Baltimore 
Massachusetts .............+ MIss JESSIE E. KIMBALL, care Boston Society of Natural History, Boston 
WMiehicants) ees cor eee ence eee MR. JEFFERSON BUTLER, 25 West Elizabeth St., Detroit 
Minnesota ce cries enero a ao eee ee ones es Miss JESSIE WHITMAN, 2356 Bayless Ave., St. Paul 
IMISSISSIP D1) Delta See eee eRe ee ey eae elie doe Oe cE Ce Eee Mr. ANDREW ALLISON, Ellisville 
PCE Te) | 9 ae anata ee Ene Nar Bre Dy Aen ALC AL for ete Bean amt at SIDNEY HarE, Kansas City 
Nebraska \sniessc ee ene sd ae wise elenie a Sess snes ave ete vee mee Miss Joy Hiceins, 544 South 3oth street, Omaha 
News Hampshire. sete sie esas eee Be en aie Se eee Mrs. F. W. BATCHELDER, Manchester 
IN@w Jerse yen one 2ce nr re ai eee Sees Miss JULIA S. SCRIBNER, 510 East Front street, Plainfield 
IGS? MOM Ri se coe ocpoendadcocunTeDncauancooy asbunegabebonacwdase Miss EmmMA H. Lockwoob, Scarborough 
North Carolina wie ca hone clove tre asia = Shaindie sie aed ne Meets Pe EEE Mr. T. GILBERT PEARSON, Greensboro 
NorthsDakotanceoscon Cle cet eee aE ee Mrs. A. G. LEONARD, 897 Belmont Ave., Grand Forks 
Ohio ee sec Sate eee ee. eee ea aan Miss KATHERINE RATTERMANN, 510 York street, Cinci: nati 
Oklahoma: 22.2 cise sale Soise e siaveieiBie ele ea wisi aretons [a wie, © sor sb aianete hie Ree acto ee ale Miss ALMa Carson, Guthrie 
Oregon 25 2s Nase Osea aie ee eae Soe ee Dr. EMMA J. WELTY, 321 Montgomery street, Portland 
Pennsylvania.............-...-. Miss ELIZABETH WILSON FISHER, Room 22, 524 Walnut St., Philadelphia 
Rhode‘Island 5.6 wscccecss Sos oo nes ae Miss ALICE W. WILCOx, 165 Prospect street, Providence 
South, Carolinamees pecs eee Ceo eer Mr. JaMES HENRY RICE, 336 Pine street, Spartanburg 
South(Dakotasiaae cece ce he eee eee ae GEORGE A, PETTIGREW, Sioux Falls 
TAS aoe FI ai aia are athe ako oe area ae a ee eo ae on eee M. B. Davis, Waco 
Vermont or <2 irec ese shea fa ia oie aia la Sa ernie Mintel adie Heo mene ete Mr. CARLETON D. Howe, Essex Junction 
Wreashine tony. san sca soe cache oe graeme tose eae melee cee aa ree H. RieEF, 49 Maynard Building, Seattle 
WV ISCOMSIUS eo ohiote ei fetes aoe coe a yah ee CHAR: ES E. Brown, State Historical Library, Madison 


Annual Meeting of the National 
Association 


The fourth annual meeting of the 
National Association of Audubon Socie- 
ties was held October 27 in the American 
Museum of Natural History, New York 
City. Members were present from several 
states. 

The President called the attention of the 
Association to the proposed reduction in 
the number of Directors from thirty to 
eleven, of which notice had been sent to 
the members of the Association. It was 
considered very much wiser to have a 


smaller Board so that at least a majority 
of the members would constitute a quorum. 
It was also suggested that an Advisory 
Board should be created to consist pri- 
marily of those members of the present 
Board of Directors who find it impossible 
to attend the meetings of the Board by 
reason of their residing, in most instances, 
many hundred miles from the office of the 
Association. 

The following resolutions were unani- 
mously carried: 

“ Resolved that the number of Directors 
of the National Association of Audubon 
Societies for the Protection of Wild Birds 


(274) 


The Audubon Societies 


and Animals be reduced from thirty, its 
present number, to eleven. 

“Resolved Further that the Directors of 
the Association be authorized and directed 
to sign, acknowledge and file a supple- 
mental certificate specifying such reduc- 
tion.” 

At a meeting of the Board of Directors 
of the Association held on October 28, 
a quorum being present, the following 
changes in the By-Laws of the Association 
were presented by the Attorney, Mr. 
Samuel T. Carter, Jr.; notice of the pro- 
posed amendments having been sent to 
all members fifteen days previously in 
accordance with the By-Laws. 

“The first paragraph of Article III to 
be amended to read: 

“The control and conduct of the prop- 
erty and business of the Association shall 
be vested in a Board of Directors not to 
exceed eleven in number. The board shall 
be divided into five classes which shall be 
equal in number except that the first class 
shall consist of three members. This first 
class shall serve until the next annual 
meeting after its election and the others, 
for one, two, three and four years there- 
after, respectively. Thereafter at each 
annual meeting those whose term of office 
may then expire shall be succeeded by a 
like number of Directors to serve the full 
term of five years. All Directors shall be 
elected by a majority vote of the members 
present.” 

The third paragraph of Article III 
was amended by providing that six Direc- 
tors, and not five, shall constitute a 
quorum. 

The third paragraph to be amended to 
read: 

“Regular meetings of the Board of 
Directors shall be held on the last Tuesday 
of October and of every alternate month 
thereafter, except that when that day falls 
on a legal holiday the meeting shall be 
held on the following day. 

“Special meetings may be called by the 
President or by any five members of the 
Board, the special object of the meeting 
being given in the call. Ten days’ written 
notice of any special meeting shall be given 


275 


to each member of the Board at his last 
known address. Six Directors shall con- 
stitute a quorum for the transaction of 
business. 

“Upon the resignation or death of any 
member of the Board of Directors, the 
Board may proceed to elect a Director in 
his place to serve until the next annual 
meeting.” 

Article IV to be amended by striking 
out the word “standing” in the second 
paragraph. 

Article V to be stricken out and the fol- 
lowing to be substituted. 

“There may be chosen by the members 
of the Association from among their mem- 
bership or otherwise at any annual meet- 
ing what shall be known as an Advisory 
Board consisting of not less than ten nor 
more than thirty members, of which Board 
the President of the Association shall be 
ex-officio a member and at whose meetings 
he shall preside. Members of this Board 
shall serve annually or until their succes- 
sors are appointed. No meetings of this 
Board need be held and it shall have no 
control over or management of the affairs 
of the Association, except as the Board 
of Directors may desire from time to time 
to submit any matters to it. In such case, 
meetings of this Board shall be held on ten 
days’ notice from the President of the 
Association.” 

The above amendments were adopted 
separately and thereafter adopted as a 
whole by a unanimous vote. of all of the 
members of the Board present. 

The following officers were elected for 
the ensuing year: President, William Dut- 
cher; First Vice-President, Dr. T. S. Pal- 
mer; Second Vice-President, Dr. J. A. 
Allen; Secretary, T. Gilbert Pearson; 
Treasurer, Dr. Jonathan Dwight, Jr. 

The President stated that Mr. Gifford 
Pinchot had invited the Association to 
appoint a Committee to codperate with 
the National Conservation Commission. 
By direction of the Board the following 
Committee was appointed: Chairman, Mr. 
Edward Howe Forbush, Dr. T. S. Palmer, 
Frank M. Chapman, T. Gilbert Pearson, 
William Dutcher. 


THI LOUISIANA RESERVATIONS 


Photographed by Herbert K. Job 


Their tameness is the result of absolute protection. 


LAUGHING GULLS ON BATTLEDORE ISLAND, ONE OF 


Annual Report of the National Associa- 
tion of Audubon Societies for 1908 


CONTENTS 


ADDRESS OF THE PRESIDENT. 
FINANCIAL NEEDS—AIMS AND PLANS FOR THE FUTURE. 


REPORT OF THE SECRETARY 
RESULTS ACHIEVED IN 1908. 


REPORT OF SPECIAL AGENTS. 


REPORT OF EDWARD HOWE FORBUSH. 
REPORT OF WILLIAM L. FINLEY. 


REPORTS OF STATE SOCIETIES 


Reports from Arizona, California, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, 
Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massa- 
chusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New 
York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsy]- 
vania, Rhode Island, Texas, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin. i 


LIST OF MEMBERS AND CONTRIBUTORS. 
REPORT OF THE TREASURER. 


ADDRESS OF THE PRESIDENT 


ANNUAL MEETING 1908 


MEMBERS OF THE NATIONAL AssocIATION: What this Association has accom- 
plished during the few years of its existence speaks for itself, and it may be truly 
said, I think, that very few organizations of a mixed character, such as the 
National Association, which is partly philanthropic and esthetic, but mostly 
economic, have made such great strides in the estimation of the public, as well 
as in benefits conferred on the citizens of the country. When our work was 
started, there were few laws for the protection of wild birds and animals, especi- 
ally those that are beneficial to agriculture and forestry; today this condition 
is entirely changed. Further, a sentiment for the protection of wild life could 
hardly be said to exist; today such a sentiment is widespread and is fast growing, 
owing to the educational work of the Audubon Societies through the press and 
by illustrated leaflets. What has been accomplished isa monument to the faith- 
ful and intelligent work of a few hundred people scattered throughout the country. 
Today, I can point with pride to a strong and thoroughly equipped organization, 
virile and full of activity and promise for the future outcome of the work of 
the National and State Audubon Members. The past is gone, and your Presi- 
dent’s brief address will be of plans for the future. Every well-organized and 
successful business follows a plan which has been studied and outlined in detail 


278 Bird- Lore 


in advance, and the future success of the work of this Association can be guar- 
anteed only by a strict and rigid compliance with such a rule. To that end, 
I submit to the members of the National and State Audubon Societies an outline 
for future work, and some suggestions of how it may be carried on to the best 
advantage. Properly, the work may be divided into four heads, as follows: 
Finances, Education, Legislation, Reservations and Wardens. 


FINANCES 


The financial proposition is treated of first because without funds the entire 
work falls to the ground, and this the public must understand. This organi- 
zation is doing a voluntary work of inestimable value to the country at Jarge, 
and the citizens must support it. The foundation of all the wealth of the country 
is based on its agricultural and forestry products, and without birds such prod- 
ucts would be impossible. The annual loss from insect and rodent pests at 
the present time is estimated to be $800,000,000. When the public begins to 
think about these figures and realizes that this annual loss may be reduced 
by such work as ours, I feel sure that an adequate support will be forthcoming. 
If it is not, this generation is simply robbing children yet unborn. This isa terrible 
charge, but it is a true one. If we permit the heritage of wild birds that still 
exist to be wasted and destroyed, we are robbing our children. We are simply 
trustees, and should seek to enlarge the estate in our care rather than squander 
it. The public, as trustees, are in honor bound to preserve the wild birds for 
those that follow us. We do not wish our children to feel about us as we do about 
our fathers, who permitted the wanton and useless extinction of the Bison and 
the Wild Pigeon. The income of the Association during the past year, as reported 
by the Treasurer, was $24,000. When it is apportioned among the several bran- 
ches of our work and is divided among the forty-eight states and territories, 
each section gets but a very small sum. This sum should be multiplied many 
times. We need an endowment of several millions of dollars in order to expand 
our legitimate work. Is there any more worthy or meritorious work than ours? 
If you wish to endow and further education, give to the National Association 
a substantial fund to be devoted to educating the public of the country to the 
value of birds and their intimate relation to agriculture and forestry. This 
subject is of as great importance as sanitation, medicine, pure science or civics, 
to which millions of dollars are given each year. It is a serious question whether 
the preservation of birds is not of greater importance than either of the above 
subjects; for, without birds, it is a probable fact that the world would be unin- 
habitable. If you cannot endow, either during your lifetime or as a devisor, 
you can at least show your sympathy and give your support by becoming a life 
member or an annual sustaining member. 

I realize that there are but few people who are qualified by wealth or spirit 
to create great endowment funds for special purposes, but there are some, and 


Annual Meeting 1908 279 


to such I appeal for help at this time as well as in the future. Later, I will detail 
many special objects, any one of which is worthy of a fund of liberal size. The 
general public means you, and you can at least contribute once a year the small 
sum of $5, or, if you prefer, a life membership of $100, which will produce an 
annual fee in perpetuity. You will then have the satisfaction of knowing that 
your good deeds will follow you long after you have done with life’s work. This 
appeal is not one to be passed by lightly and thoughtlessly. It is of too great an 
interest to you personally, for I know that no matter what your occupation 
in life is and just how you toil for your daily bread, somewhere the welfare and 
protection of birds touches and is of moment to your daily vocation. Surely, 
under these circumstances, you will be willing to do your part toward caring for 
creatures that are so intimately woven into your daily life and well-being. I 
forbear to touch upon the esthetic aspect of this question; the economic feature 
is of such momentous interest to you personally that no other incentive should 
be needed to cause you to do your part in this work. 


EDUCATION 


Try to imagine what the result would be in a generation or two if all the 
schools and educational institutions were to be closed. Ignorance and its sister, 
Crime, would take the place of peace and civilization. It is a sad fact that today 
there is too much ignorance regarding birds and their relation to the human 
race. It isa rare occurrence to find a person who can name a dozen of the common 
birds that may be found about his home, and it is still more difficult to find one 
who can tell how each bird is benefiting him. How wide-spread this ignorance 
is may be illustrated by the fact that a prominent paper recently published an 
editorial in which it recommended the extirpation of all Sparrows, on the ground 
that the European House Sparrow is a public nuisance. The editor, who should 
have been able to form correct public opinion, was so ignorant of birds that 
he was not able to differentiate between the great number of native Sparrows 
and the introduced pest. 

There should be a great fund established under the direction of this Associa- 
tion, to carry on the work of education regarding birds. 

Press Bureau.—In order to bring more rapidly to the notice of the public 
the vast importance of bird protection, I urge the expansion of our press bureau. 
‘There is no surer or more rapid method of diffusing knowledge of birds than 
through interesting, but absolutely correct, stories of their habits and value. 
A large part of the success of the Audubon work may be attributed to the articles 
that appear at frequent intervals in the most widely read papers of the country. 
The first knowledge that our great benefactor, Mr. Willcox, had was derived 
from a newspaper item regarding the Audubon Societies; this fact alone warrants 
not only a continuation, but an expansion, of our press bureau. In this way, 
every hamlet can be reached at the minimum of expense. 


280 Bird-Lore 


Educational Leaflets —A liberal portion of the educational fund should be 
used to increase our series of Educational Leaflets, illustrated with correct 
drawings in the natural colors of the birds, and giving a brief résumé of the 
habits of the bird, and especially of its economic value. It is of vital importance 
that Leaflets should be used in every public school in the country, especially those 
in the rural districts. There are a thousand species of wild birds in North America, 
each one of which is of greater or less value to humanity, and every child in 
the country should be able to recognize at sight the more common ones that 
are to be found in his locality, and should also be able to give some of the 
reasons why such birds are of benefit to him. 

Our Educational Leaflets are the quickest and surest method of bringing 
this knowledge to the millions of school children of the country. In order to 
encourage among school children the practice of studying the habits of birds 
in the field, I strongly urge offering medals for the best essays on birds, based 
on original observations. I recommend a silver medal for each state, and a gold 
medal for the United states. Such a competition among the school children 
of the country would produce splendid educational results. 

Field Agents——The work of our field agents has secured results that are 
most gratifying, and fully warrant a very greatly increased staff of such import- 
ant helpers. Instead of having a lecturer and organizer to care for ten states, 
on the average, we should have at least one for each state, and, where the common- 
wealth is very large and populous, there should be two or three. It is a well- 
established fact that the quickest method of getting good returns in sentiment 
and interest is to have a well-equipped person give illustrated bird lectures. 
The experience of this Association is that, wherever it has done the most work 
of this character, it has found it the easiest to secure good bird and game laws 
and the least trouble in their enforcement. There are several states where it 
is imperative that lecturers and organizers should be established at once; for 
in them, in the past, all of the efforts made have proved futile, owing to the fact 
that sufficient preparatory educational work had not been done. A great part 
of the hoped-for educational endowment must be used to increase our field 
staff 

Traveling Lecture Outfits Supplementary to the work of the field agent, 
a large number of circulating lecture outfits can be used to advantage. These 
consist of a box of colored slides of birds, a small lantern to exhibit the same, - 
and a descriptive lecture to be read by a teacher, Master Granger, or any inter- 
ested person. Such an outfit costs about $150, and it can be kept at work almost 
constantly. There is a steadily increasing demand for these outfits, and at least 
one hundred of them could be used to advantage. 

One of the most practical methods of educating adults about birds is to 
make exhibits at agricultural fairs. A comprehensive exhibit, when once estab- 
lished, can be moved from place to place with slight expense The good done by 
such object lessons of the value of birds to agriculture and forestry is very marked. 


Annual Meeting 1908 281 


LEGISLATION 


I urge the foundation of a fund to be devoted to the legislative work of this 
Association. The public cannot realize how very important this branch of the 
work is, and how necessary it is to maintain eternal vigilance. To illustrate: 
After considerable hard work, a satisfactory bird and game law is secured in 
a state. You may think this is the end of the story, and that our work is finished 
in that locality, but it is not. In some states, a session of the legislature is held 
annually, but, fortunately, in most of the Commonwealths, biennially. Every 
session of a legislature must be closely watched, in order to prevent amendments 
to our law that would weaken it. This requires that copies of all bills intreduced 
must be promptly obtained, and that the Association be kept informed of the 
Committee to which the bill is referred, and also of the dates of hearings by 
the Committee. When the bill is an important one, a representative of the Asso- 
ciation must be present at the hearing and speak for or against it. The above 
outline is simply what has to be done each year to prevent undesirable legis- 
lation in one state; when it is multiplied by all of the states holding legislative 
sessions (forty-four in the coming winter), you can fairly judge of the magnitude 
of this branch of the work. 

When the Association initiates legislation, which it very often does, success 
demands even greater efforts. In the matter of bird legislation, there is no rest- 
ing-place; the only price of satisfactory bird protection is eternal watching of 
legislatures, for in an unguarded moment an amendment may be passed that 
will undo the work of years. Our field agents are experts in legislative work; 
but human strength has its limits, and they cannot respond to more than a frac- 
tion of the calls made upon them. In addition to watching forty-four legislatures 
for undesirable bills, the Association proposes to initiate the following new 
legislation this winter. 

Game-bird Protection —Anti-spring-shooting bills for Massachusetts, Rhode 
Island, Michigan, North Dakota, and Southern New Jersey. Until all spring 
shooting is prohibited, game birds will decrease. 

Non-sale of Game Birds.—Bill to prohibit sale of any kind of game birds 
in New York state during the close season. Permission to sell game in the close 
season practically lengthens a season. 

Non-game Bird Protection.—Bills to strengthen the plumage section in several 
state laws, notably in New York. This must be done in order to stop the sale 
of wild birds’ plumage, especially that of the White Herons, and several other 
birds that are becoming alarmingly scarce. 

Big Game Protection —Bills to obtain increased protection for antelope, 
especially by securing a close season for several years in states where there is 
now an open season, viz., Kansas, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Washington 
and Wyoming. The antelope is an animal of special scientific interest, as it is 
found in no other portion of the world. Our stock of the graceful prong-horn 


282 Bird - Lore 


is becoming very low, and means should be taken at once to prevent their exter- 
mination. In this connection, the Association hopes to secure the necessary funds 
to conduct experiments in winter feeding of antelope, elk, and other big game 
in the West. It is proposed to lease or buy suitable tracts of land, and grow alfalfa 
and other forage for such animals. 


SNOWY HERON BROODING 


Note the display of ‘‘aigrette’’ plumes. The almost total extermination of these Herons in this 
country was caused by the millinery demand for the “aigrette.’”’ Photographed on Louisiana 
Audubon Reservation by Herbert K. Job. 


We also hope to codperate in establishing a national bison herd in Montana, 
and in securing a close season for mountain sheep in Oregon. 

Hunting Licenses.—Bills in Ohio, Iowa, Florida and Texas for resident 
licenses. Such licenses are a great additional protection to birds and game, 
and the fees derived from the sale of licenses furnish a fund to be used for the 
protection and propagation of game; this obviates the necessity of a special tax 
for that purpose. 


Annual Meeting 1908 283 


Warden Service.—Bills to establish in Arkansas, Florida and South Dakota 
State Game Commissions. It has been found that game and bird laws are useless 
unless there is some official charged with their enforcement. | 

Warning Notices.—During the present year, permission was obtained from 
Postmaster-General Meyer for this Association to display its warning notices 
in all of the postoffices in the United States. These notices, printed on muslin 
for permanency, contain a brief résumé of the state game and bird laws, the 
Lacy (Interstate Commerce) Act, and the name and address of the Commissioner 
and State Audubon Society. To guarantee the expense of such a display of warn- 
ing notices in every postoffice in a state might easily be assumed by a citizen 
who takes interest in good civics and the welfare of his home state. The amount 
of benefit assured under this plan is incalculable, for it prevents the plea of 
ignorance of the law by its violators. 


RESERVATIONS AND WARDENS 


Through the means of reservations, this Association has been able to demon- 
strate to the public the practical value of bird refuges. Whether the land has 
been set aside by the Federal Government, or is held under lease by the Asso- 
ciation, the wardens who guard the birds occupying the reserves are paid by 
this Association, and this additional but necessary tax upon our resources has 
grown very rapidly during the past year, and bids fair to expand very greatly 
in the near future. The possibilities for good of this feature of Association work 
are so full of promise that I am warranted in making a special and urgent appeal 
for a large fund to be devoted entirely to the acquisition of bird refuges and the 
proper care of the same. The refuges already secured are for sea-birds, and, 
in addition to many more of these, there should be established refuges for land 
birds, especially such as Grouse and Quail, where experiments in propagation 
could be made. If the tract were large enough and had within its borders ponds, 
lakes, streams and marshes, the experiment could be made to cover wild fowl 
also. Here also might be found an opportunity to carry on experimental work 
with methods of attracting birds by artificial breeding-places, in order to demon- 
strate their real value to agriculture and forestry. It is impossible for me, in the 
space at my disposal, to more than hint at the wonderful results to the country 
that may be achieved in this direction; moreover, on such reserves scientific 
forestry might be practiced, and the reserves thus be made self-supporting in 
time. The plan of reserves must appeal to every enlightened citizen of the coun- 
try, especially those who are nature lovers, and who deplore and would prevent 
the wasting of our natural assets; further, the educational value of the experi- 
ments. conducted on such reserves would be very great, and would no doubt 
influence individual owners of large tracts of land, as well as municipalities, 
to apply the same methods on their estates and park lands. 

In conclusion, I wish to emphasize the thought that the National Association 


284 Bird- Lore 


of Audubon Societies is thoroughly equipped to carry on the work of wild bird 
and animal protection, which is now known to be one of the most important 
branches of public endeaver for the advancement of our country’s interests. 
How rapidly this work may be extended depends entirely upon the public itself. 
If this appeal falls upon unwilling ears and hearts, our progress will be slow, 
but if, on the other hand, our plans and suggestions outlined meet with the 
sympathy and support that they deserve, progress will be very rapid. Let me 
revert once more to my starting point. If you are the custodian of great wealth, 
devote a liberal share of it to this great civic and economic movement, or, if you 
are able to bear only a small portion of this burden of good, do it cheerfully 
and promptly. 


REPORT OF T. GILBERT PEARSON, SECRETARY 


In attempting to report a year’s progress in the Audubon movement, one 
is necessarily limited largely to a statement of what has been undertaken in the 
various lines of endeavor, and to a chronicling of such tangible results as are 
apparent. Signs of a wide-spread crystallization of public sentiment for the better 
protection of wild birds and animals are annually becoming more apparent 
throughout America, and, even to observers who are but casually informed 
on the subject, the paramount influence which the Audubon Societies exert 
on the movement is a most pronounced one. 


EDUCATIONAL WORK 


The educational phase of the Audubon work has been pushed the past year 
with unabated vigor. Six new regular Leaflets have been published as follows: 
Herring Gull, Snowflake, Song Sparrow, Barn Swallow, Tree Swallow and 
Ruby and Golden-crowned Kinglets. In addition to the above, six special Leaf- 
lets have been printed. These are: For December—Six Reminders; The Cost 
of a Feather; February Hints; Winter Feeding of Wild Birds; Bob-white, The 
Farmer’s Friend; and Putting up Bird Boxes. With two exceptions, all of the 
above-named papers of both series were written by our splendid worker, Mrs. 
Mabel Osgood Wright. 

Twenty-nine thousand copies of these Leaflets were purchased by the State 
Audubon Societies of Massachusetts, North Carolina and New York; while 
over seventy thousand copies have been distributed from the New York and 
Greensboro offices of the Association. 

A larger number of public lectures have been given by the officers and agents 
of the Association than formerly. Mr. Finley has spoken many times in the 
Northwest; Mr. Kopman in the lower Mississippi states; Mr. Forbush in New 
England; Miss Mary T. Moore, School Secretary, in Virginia and the Carolinas; 
Captain Davis in Texas; Mr. Job in various eastern states; Mr. Bowdish, Chief 


Report of T. Gilbert Pearson 285 


Clerk in New York Office, in New Jersey; Mr. Chapman, our Treasurer and 
Editor of Brrp-LoreE, in many of the eastern states, and President Dutcher 
at various points in New York and New Jersey. These addresses have been 
given usually with a view of arousing interest in securing better feeling to sup 
port advance legislation for bird and game protection. In some states, notably 
Connecticut, Massachusetts and Louisiana, the legislative results have been 
most gratifying. 

The power of the press as an educational agent has long been recognized 
and used by the Association. Through a news agency twelve syndicate articles 
on various phases of the work have been sent to over three hundred of the leading 
papers in the United States. These articles have been copied in many hundreds 
of local papers, even getting into the “patent insides” and reaching the most 
remote corners of our rural communities. In addition to these, articles and inter- 
views have been given out by the various officers and agents, while notices and 
comments of lectures and editorials inspired by these have combined to keep 
the Audubon work well before the American public. 

The collection of stereopticon views illustrating wild-bird life has been en- 
riched, and several sets of these have been sent out to be used by interested work- 
ers, many of whose names do not appear in this brief report. The Association 
also sends 1,200 copies of Brrp-LorE to members and contributors. 


LEGISLATION 


During the year sixteen states held either regular or special sessions of their 
legislature. We kept in close touch with all these, and when any changes in the 
bird protective laws were contemplated, either an officer or agent of the Asso- 
ciation was present in person. In Georgia, Mississippi, Maryland and South 
Carolina, bills were introduced to place more restriction on hunters. These, 
however, all failed of passage. Only one actual backward step for bird protec- 
tion was taken by a legislature. This was in Virginia, where the Audubon law 
was amended in such a way as to remove all protection from Hawks, Owls, 
Eagles, Blackbirds, Ricebirds, Bobolinks, Doves, Wilson’s Snipe and Robin 
Snipe. The Association is now conducting an active campaign in Vir- 
ginia with a view of remedying this evil at the next session of the General As- 
sembly. 

The Audubon workers are responsible for the passage of a splendid bird and 
game law in Louisiana. This new statute provides for a State Warden force 
to work under the direction of a Board of Commissioners, and is supported finan- 
cially by a resident, non-resident, and alien hunter’s license tax. The chairman 
and executive officer of this commission is Mr. Frank M. Miller, who for years 
has been doing such splendid work as President of the Louisiana Audubon Society. 
Strenuous efforts were made by the New Orleans dry-goods firms to repeal 
that part of the Louisiana Audubon law which prohibits the sale of the plumage 


286 Bird- Lore 


of birds or parts thereof, whether taken within or without the state. We were 
entirely successful in defeating this measure. 

In Rhode Island, we aided in the passage of two very helpful measures; one 
of these prohibits the killing of Shore Birds from January 1, to August 1. The 
other provides for increased appropriations of state funds for the game com- 
mission. : 

In New York State, the entire bird and game law was revised at the sugges- 
tion of Governor Hughes. Among other important features, the new statute 
protects the Wood Duck at all times. New York is the third state to take this 
wise measure for the preservation of this beautiful and fast-vanishing game 
bird. 

Massachusetts, as usual, took additional advanced ground in game protec- 
tion. The powers to the wardens were enlarged, gray squirrels were declared 
protected entirely for two and a half years, and provision was made for the appoint- 
ment of a State Ornithologist. We are much pleased to announce that our New 
England Agent, Mr. E. H. Forbush, has since been appointed to this important 
office. 


RESERVATIONS 


Nine additional reservations have been formed during the past year by Presi- 
dent Roosevelt upon the recommendation of President Dutcher. These are 
Mosquito Inlet on the East Coast of Florida, Tortugas Keys, Florida; Key West, 
Florida; Lower Klamath Lake, Southern Oregon and Northern California, Lake 
Malheur, Oregon, Chase Lake, Dakota; Pine Island, Matlacha Pass and Palma 
Sola, all on the Florida Gulf Coast. In all, there are now twenty-three National 
Reservations under the care of this Association. 


WARDEN WORK 


During the year, forty-nine duly appointed wardens have guarded the breed- 
ing colonies of birds which are protected by this Association. These wardens 
are located as follows: In Florida, six; Louisiana, six; Maine, fifteen; Massa- 
chusetis, one; Michigan, two; Minnesota, one; New Jersey, two; New York, 
two; North Dakota, one; Oregon, one; South Carolina, one; Texas, one; Vir- 
ginia, seven; Washington, six. 

Forty-seven species of birds have received special protection by the activi- 
ties of these officers, while incidental protection has been afforded to many more. 
The most numerous species in the colonies of the Atlantic Coast are Herring 
and Laughing Gulls, Brown Pelicans and various species of Terns. On the 
preserves in the interior are Ducks, White Pelicans, Gulls and Grebes; and on 
the Pacific Coast, Cormorants, Puffins, Murres, Gulls and Petrels. Practically 
every protected species in these colonies shows a marked increase in numbers. 
In many instances the wardens are able to keep a very close watch on the actual 


Report of T. Gilbert Pearson 3 287 


number of eggs laid and young raised. In other cases where the birds gather 
in great masses, or are extended over wide areas, it is impossible to form an 
exact estimate of their numbers. However, we believe that the reports of the 
wardens are sufficiently correct to prove of interest. These show that during 
the past year the birds which gathered in the protected colonies numbered some- 
thing over 658,500. The number of eggs believed to have been laid was 296,100, 
and the number of young raised was 227,731. 

As usual, many eggs and young were lost as a result of storms and high tides, 
but it is believed the colonies suffered little from the depredation of eggers, while 
the guarded territory is thought to have been entirely free from inroads of the 
millinery-feather gatherers. 


SECRETARY’S WORK 


Besides conducting the ever-increasing correspondence and general work 
of the Southern office, your Secretary has spent much time in the field represent- 
ing the Association in various capacities. In the interest of legislation, he has 
visited Florida and lectured at various places in Virginia. At the Summer School 
of the South at Knoxville, Tenn., he conducted for three weeks a class in bird 
study of over one hundred Southern teachers, besides giving public stereopticon 
lectures. He attended the Indiana State Audubon Society meeting at Fort 
Wayne, the International Conference of Fisheries held in Washington City, 
and various public gatherings in North Carolina, at many of which he gave 
addresses on bird protection and the Audubon work. He made a tour of inspec- 
tion through South Carolina and secured evidence of many violations of the Game 
laws. For example, one hotel was found to have in cold storage 3,000 Quail, 
which were being served illegally to the guests. His work has also brought him 
to New York on various occasions to canvass for funds and for conferences 
with the President. 


288 Bird - Lore 


REPORTS OF FIELD AGENTS 


REPORT OF EDWARD HOWE FORBUSH 


The work undertaken by your agent in New England during the year has 
included the following principal lines of action: (1) Educational and publicity 
work, (2) legislative work, (3) investigation of the present status of the wild 
fowl, shore-birds and sea-birds and measures needed for their protection, (4) 
the work of organization. 

A new feature of the educational work consisted in the publication, in fifty 
New England newspapers, of a series of articles on birds and bird protection, 
written monthly or semi-monthly as time allowed. This series has been continued 
through the year. Eighty-two talks and lectures on the utility of birds and the 
means of attracting and protecting them have been given in Connecticut, Rhode 
Island, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine. The audiences have con- 
sisted mainly of students of universities, colleges and schools, and members of 
clubs and farmers’ organizations, aggregating nearly twenty thousand people. 
Most of these talks were illustrated with lantern slides or colored charts. They 
have resulted in a great deal of practical work among the young people, many 
of whom have begun to feed birds and put up bird-houses. No work has been 
done in Vermont this year; but it may be possible to reach that state before the 
end of the season. 

The detailed results of the legislative work of the year have been given already 
in Brrp-Lore, but may be reviewed briefly here. This work was interfered 
with somewhat by lecture engagements, and owing to this and certain peculiar 
conditions was not uniformly successful; but all bills adverse to bird protection 
were defeated. In Massachusetts, the following were the principal bills passed: 
An act requiring the licensing of all resident hunters, another giving the deputies 
or game wardens the right to arrest, without a warrant, suspected persons refus- 
ing to exhibit their game on demand; another shortening the open season on 
upland game-birds, two establishing state forest tracts or reservations, and one 
establishing the office of State Ornithologist. 

The first two acts will help much in the enforcement of the laws for the 
conservation of game and birds. The establishment of an official State Orni- 
thologist in every state of the union would be a benefit. Such an official could 
save the people of any state far more than his salary each year by instructing 
the people in the economic value of birds and the necessity for their protection. 

In Rhode Island an act was passed establishing a close season on all shore 
birds trom January 1, to August 1, thus giving shore-birds their first real statu- 
tory protection in that state, and an additional appropriation was secured for the 
use of the Bird Commissioners. No other New England state has legislative 
sessions in 1908 except Vermont, where the legislature does not convene until 
October, or after the date of this report. 


Reports of Field Agents 289 


Educational and .egislative work occupied most of the time, until June, 
when the investigation into the status and present needs of the wild-fowl and 
shore-birds was begun with a view to representing the facts to the legislature 
of Massachusetts at some future time. The haunts of these birds were visited 
and much evidence was obtained from sportsmen, gunners and naturalists, regard- 
ing the former abundance of the birds and their present depletion. This work 
is still incomplete. In July, all the time that could be spared from correspondence 
and educational work was given to an investigation of the condition of certain 
Gulls, Terns, Herons, Sandpipers and Plover along the Massachusetts coast. 
Seven trips were made to the remoter coasts and islands. The Gulls and Terns 
were seen to be increasing under protection, with the possible exception of the 
Least Terns, which are still very few in number and not favorably situated for 
protection. The number of Common and Roseate Terns seen on these coasts 
and islands may be estimated safely at between twenty-five thousand and thirty 
thousand. Even the Laughing Gulls of Muskeget, which were nearly extermi- 
nated at one time, now number fully a thonsand (estimated), and their distri- 
bution to other localities apparently is beginning. A few Herring Gulls now remian 
for the summer. The Piping Plover seems to be nearing extermination. Only 
one colony was seen and elsewhere only an occasional pair or two were met with. 
A Massachusetts law allows the shooting of these birds in Julyand August, 
when their young are still small, and thus far the legislature has refused to amend 
this statute. The colony of Least Terns and Piping Piover at Katama Bay can 
be saved only by keeping a warden there all summer and stopping all shooting. 
It is hoped that this may be done another year. Upland Plover appear to be 
increasing slightly under protection in two localities, but Killdeer Plover are 
close to extermination in Massachusetts. The Night Herons seem to be now 
holding their own. 

The work of organization has consisted in part of spasmodic attempts to 
increase the numbers or efficiency of some of the state Societies. Some addition 
was made to the membership of the Massachusetts Association through the 
efforts of your agent, and a great deal of work was done to organize the members 
of granges, women’s clubs, and other organizations in behalf of bird protection. 
A trip to Bar Harbor in August resulted in awakening some interest in bird 
protection there, and securing some influential members of the summer colony 
as members of the National Association. One lesson derived from the experience 
of the year is found in the great and growing demand for educational work. 
Your agent might have made arrangements to give at least 600 illustrated lec- 
tures to farmers’ organizations, schools, etc., had his time permitted. A first- 
class lecturer on the utility of birds, the necessity for their protection, and the 
means to this end is needed in every state, and his time would be fully occupied. 
The demand for such work is tremendous and its results would be immediate. 
During the legislative season another man is required in each state to organize 
the forces of bird protection and lead them to victory. Such a man could devote 


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Reports of Field Agents 291 


his time to strengthening the National Association and the State Associations 
and increasing their membership and income during the rest of the year. Thus 
twelve men could be used to advantage in these states. 

It is impossible for your agent in New England to do the work of twelve men, 
but he believes that the time will come when the importance of this work will 
be recognized, and then the means and the men will be forthcoming. 


REPORT OF WILLIAM L. FINLEY 


On May 14, 1y08, Mr. Herman T. Bohlman and I left Portland to make 
a study of bird life in southeastern Oregon, with the hope of reporting on con- 
ditions and securing additional reservations for the protection of our water 
fowl. The trip was taken in Mr. Bohlman’s ‘White Steamer’ which was speci- 
ally remodeled and arranged with complete camping outfit. The machine was 
shipped to The Dalles by boat, and from there we traveled straight south through 
Shaniko and Prineville to Burns. The roads were often rough and steep, but 
we reached Lake Malheur without accident, after a 30c-mile run. 

Lake Malheur is a body of water about twelve by fifteen miles, and, like the 
other lakes through southern Oregon, has a vast area of tule land surrounding 
it. Malheur differs from Harney and Klamath Lakes, in that it is a shallow 
body of water only a few feet deep, and abounds in a great variety of plant life. 
For this reason it is the best feeding-ground in the fall and spring for the great 
flocks of migrating water-fowl. 

In order to explore this region, we first tried a folding canvas boat, which 
we secured at Burns, twenty-five miles north of the lake. This had the advantage 
of being light, but it was too small to carry the equipment we needed for a week’s 
trip on the lake. We needed a double-ended flat-bottom boat that could be used 
in shallow places to make way through the tules. We made three different trips 
out through various sections of this vast lake district. We were out for nine days 
during the last trip. 

We had toundergo many hardships in exploring this region to find the different 
bird colonies. We spent much of our time searching to see if we coald not find 
a few American Egrets, for great colonies of these birds formerly inhabited this 
region. 

After almost two months in this country, we discovered many large colonies 
of breeding birds. The most important, perhaps, was a colony of 500 White- 
faced Glossy Ibis, which were nesting in the same locality with the Black-crowned 
Night Herons. We found several colonies of Great Blue Herons and Farallone 
Cormorants nesting together. Besides some small colonies, we found one locality 
where about two thousand Western Grebe were breeding. The most populous 
colony we found was one composed of thousands of White Pelicans and Ring- 
billed and California Gulls nesting near together. In addition, we found a colony 
of Eared Grebe nesting with a colony of Western Grebe; also several small col- 


292 Bird - Lore 


onies of Forster’s and Black Tern, one colony of Caspian Terns that were nest- 
ing with the California Gulls; Pied-billed Grebe and American Coots were 
common all through the lake region. At one place we found a large number of 
Coots living about the same locality. 


In addition to Black-necked Stilts, Avocets and other wading birds, great 


WHITE-FACED GLOSSY IBIS 
One of a colony of five hundred on Lake Malheur Reservation; the only colony known in Oregon. 
Photographed by Finley and Bohlman 


numbers of Ducks and Geese lived all through this region. The southeastern 
portion of the lake is a great breeding-ground for Canada Geese. We saw many 
old birds with flocks of young almost grown. In one place I counted 540 old 
and young geese. Further on I counted 360 more. Still further on I counted 
flocks that numbered 570 Geese. This madé almost 1,500 Canada Geese in one 


part of the lake that were seen within an hour. There were likely thousands 
more all through the tules. 


Reports of Field Agents 293 


Until a few years ago, the White Egret (Herodius egretta) was quite abundant 
about Malheur lake, but after a month’s search we saw but two of these birds 
and found no sign of their nests. In 1898, a plume hunter told me he made hun- 
dreds of dollars in a day and a half, shooting White Herons on Lake Malheur. 
He has often made as high as $400 and $500 a day killing these birds. This 
shows that White Egrets were very plentiful on the lake. The slaughter was 
continued, till now the birds are practically extinct. 


THE WESTERN GREBE 


The greatest sufferer in the West at the hands of the market hunter. The snow-white breasts of these 
birds are used for capes, muffs and other purposes. Photographed by Finley and Bohlman 


This hunter is the type of the professional plumer who is responsible for 
the great decrease in numbers of our plumaged birds. He began hunting in the 
early seventies; he has hunted Herons and other plumed birds in Louisiana, 
Florida, Mexico, the West Indies, and up and down the Pacific Coast. In 1886- 
1889 he shot on Tulare Lake in California, often making $400 and $500 a day 
killing Herons. Whenever he could not make more than $120 by nine o’clock 
in the morning, he said he would seek better hunting grounds. He not only 
followed the trade of the plume hunter in the summer, but for years he was 


2904 Bird - Lore 


hired by parties in Spokane, Portland, Seattle and San Francisco to shoot Ducks 
and other wild fowl. For years he shot Grebe through southern Oregon and 
California. He was one who helped to exterminate the great colonies that formerly 
lived on the northern borders of Tulé Lake. He has hunted both the Upper 
and Lower Klamath, Tulé Lake, Goose Lake, Clear Lake, Warner’s Lake, 
Tulare Lake, Harney Lake and Lake Malheur. 

The plume hunters have been at work continually through southern Oregon 
and northern California, killing thousands of Grebes and other birds. It is a 
difficult matter to stop shooting in such a vast area that is so profitable to the 
plume hunter, but we expect to succeed. There are at present six indictments 
against plume hunters filed in the District Attorney’s office at Burns, for shooting 
Grebes on Malheur Lake. These indictments cite the killing of 400 Grebes 
by one hunter and 1,000 by a second hunter. These two plume hunters heard 
in advance that indictments were to be made and escaped to California, so they 
have never been brought to trial. At the time the indictments were made, Sheriff 
Richardson, of Harney county, seized a number of sacks containing 800 Grebes 
skins at the express office at Burns. These skins, as well as many others, were 
sent from Lawen, a small town near Malheur Lake. They were addressed to 
New York City. 

The most important step in the protection of water-fowl in the West was 
recently taken by President Roosevelt, when on August 8, of this year, he set 
aside Lower Klamath Lake to be known as the Klamath Lake Reservation, 
and on August 18, Harney Lake and Lake Malheur were set aside as Lake 
Malheur Reservation. Although these lakes have for years been the richest 
field for plume and market hunters, the field is not yet entirely depleted, nor 
do the plume hunters want to abandon these lakes as long as any plumage birds 
are left. 

I do not believe there is a more populous water-bird district in the United 
States than through southern Oregon. The President has given us the best 
reserves that can be secured. This breeding ground is undoubtedly the nursery 
of the great flocks of Ducks and Geese that invade sections of California. If 
it were not for these reserves, I believe the time would come in sections of Cali- 
fornia when the sportsmen would have little or no Duck shooting. The reser- 
vations should appeal widely to sportsmen. 

To show how little observance has been given to the game laws in south- 
eastern Oregon, it has been the custom for parties to go down to Malheur Lake 
in the fall when Swan, Snow Geese and other birds are migrating, and kill these 
birds merely for the feathers, which are sold at so much per pound. 

Ducks and Geese were so common formerly that a party of hunters could 
easily secure a wagon-load in a short time. It was not an uncommon thing for 
a party of hunters to go out to the Lake to shoot and return with as many Ducks 
as the wagon could hold. The hunters generally stopped on the corner of some 
street and passers-by could help themselves till the supply was exhausted. 


Reports of Field Agents 295 


Water fowl are still very plentiful through this region, yet I have questioned 
many of the older residents and others and find that there is little comparison 
between the number of birds now and those of a few years ago. Ducks, Geese 
and Swan were there in such numbers, a few years ago, that it seems a few years 
could make but little difference. Yet I am told that on account of the unre- 
stricted shooting there has been a constant noticeable decrease year by year. The 
wholesale decrease has been within the last five or six years. 

In the past, there has been no warden to protect the great region about Mal- 
heur and Harney Lakes, but, in order to see that the game laws are obeyed, 
through State Game Warden Stevenson we have secured the appointment of 
two wardens, one at Burns, Mr. George Sizemore, and one at Narrows, Mr. 
Charles Fitzgerald. 

The attention of the National Association is called to the condition of some 
of the larger animals in this state. On account of insufhcient protection, some 
of these are rapidly disappearing and are likely to become extinct in this state 
unless needed protection is secured. There are a few bands of elk left in the state, 
and a law should be enacted giving these animals complete protection for five or 
ten years. 

Mountain sheep are now very scarce in Oregon. They have never been 
found except in the eastern part of the state. As we have had no law for the 
protection of these animals, they have disappeared rapidly. 

Antelope were formerly quite common through southeastern Oregon, especi- 
ally in Harney and Malheur counties. Dr. L. E. Hibbard, of Burns, estimates 
that there are now not more than twenty-five hundred antelope in Harney county. 
The antelope has marvelous vitality, but its home is on the open plain. It has 
absolutely no retreat from the modern long-range rifle. It is readily hunted to 
extinction. As population advances, this animal must go unless some radical 
steps are taken. The following is a good example of how the antelope have 
disappeared. 

Five years ago, in Harney Valley a bunch of forty-five antelope lived on 
the rye-grass flats southeast of Burns. They ranged from there to the east side 
of the valley. They could be seen almost any day during the summer of 1903. 
By 1905 the herd had decreased to about twenty-five. Now all these antelope 
have disappeared. Years ago plenty of antelope ranged north of Burns. ‘These 
have disappeared. This is an example of what has been and will be repeated 
as population increases, until the last antelope is gone. Immediate protection 
is needed for those remaining. 


296 Bird - Lore 


STATE AUDUBON REPORTS 


The brief reports submitted by the several state societies show in the main 
a growing activity in the special line of work which most of them follow, i. e., 
the education of children that they may have a more intimate knowledge of 
the live bird in its natural surroundings. The love of birds once established 
in the mind and heart of a child is a guarantee that thereafter bird protection 
will occupy a large place in the child’s thoughts, and is also a warranty of the 
growth and strength of the Audubon movement for years to come.—WILLIAM 
DUTCHER. 


Arizona.—An Audubon Society was organized last April. The following 
were chosen officers of the Society: Mr. Herbert Brown, President; Rev. W. W. 
Breckenridge, Vice-president; Mrs. Harriet B. Thornber, secretary; Mrs. Flor- 
ence McCallum, treasurer. The Society adjourned during the hot summer 
months, but is ready now to take up work for the coming year. Requests to 
become members are constantly being made by people of education and ability. 
Arizona is a rich field for Audubon work.—Mkrs. J. J. THORNBER, Secretary. 


California.—During the past year, much of our energy and most of our 
money has been used in educational work. About ten thousand Leaflets, reports, 
warning-cards and signs have been distributed, including large editions of Leaf- 
lets No. 5, a new Dove Leaflet and a digest of the bird laws, a great many 
copies of which were placed with game-wardens, principals and teachers in 
the public schools, and interested workers in all parts of the state. It is pleasing 
to be able to report that the Society has been able to supply every request for 
educational literature and warning-signs made during the year. 

Fifteen illustrated lectures on the economic value of the wild birds were de- 
livered by the secretary. Professor Stebbins, of the State Normal School at 
Chico, and Dr. Emily G. Hunt, of Pasadena, have also greatly aided our work 
by illustrated lectures before local organizations and schools; and Prof. L. H. 
Miller, of the State Normal School at Los Angeles, has given a number of inter- 
esting and instructive bird talks in aid of our work. 

An effort to check the traffic in bird skins and bird eggs, carried on in vio- 
lation of the state law, has brought about very much better conditions with regard 
to the “collecting” evil; and, with continued codperation of the State Fish Com- 
mission, which issues permits under the law for scientific collecting, the abuses 
of bird and egg collecting, more or less in evidence in almost every state, will soon 
be reduced here to the minimum. 

The Society continues to combat the practice of killing Doves in the nesting 
season, and by the circulation of a large amount of educational literature fully 
covering the details of this species of cruelty, and the aid of humane sportsmen 


State Audubon Reports ag 


in sympathy with our cause, has brought about a strong public sentiment against 
the practice, which must eventually result in a much later closed season for 
the Mourning Dove than that at present provided by the state law. 

The Audubon Society of California finds itself strong and well equipped 
in the middle of its third year. It never before had so many good friends, gener- 
ous supporters and active, capable workers, willing and ready to give gratui- 
tous service for the saving of the birds. More than fifty new members, including 
a large proportion of life-members, have been added during the past three months, 
while a strong and active local Society was organized at Riverside and has become 
affiliated with the state organization. Six junior societies were also organized 
during the year. 

The local Society at Pasadena, the oldest organization affiliated with the 
State Society, has made a record worthy of special mention, having added about 
fifty active workers to its membership rolls and distributed several thousand 
Leaflets and warning-signs on its own account. This Society holds monthly 
meetings for interchange of ideas and bird study, and is exceptionally active 
in the pursuit and prosecution of violators of the bird laws in its field.—W. 
Scott Way, Secretary. 


Connecticut.—The Audubon Society feels much gratified that it was largely 
instrumental in having Mr. Wilbur Smith appointed game warden for Fair- 
field county; he gives his entire time to the work; he is a very valuable member 
of our executive committee. 

Since last spring, a column has been conducted in the Bridgeport ‘Evening 
Telegram,’ Saturday edition, entirely in the interest of bird protection; it is con- 
ducted by a lady member of our executive committee and is published in con- 
nection with the ‘Kind Deed’ club of the paper. The Society sends this weekly 
‘copy of the paper to every local secretary of the Society in the state, and uses 
the column to further the interests of the Society. This year, we have had a 
‘school secretary,’ Miss F. H. Hurd, of South Norwalk, who works in the schools 
and stirs up interest among the children. We have sent out our usual traveling 
libraries, portfolios, and bird-charts, and have distributed literature. We have 
added 645 associate members, 5 sustaining members, 5 teachers, 24 regular 
members, 206 junior members, a total of 885. We shall probably have more 
names reported before the annual meeting, October 31. The Executive Com- 
mittee has held eight meetings during the vear, with an average attendance 
of eight members. 

On Bird and Arbor Day, a party of four members of the Executive Committee 
visited eleven schools in Fairfield, and one of the party spoke to the children in 
thirteen rooms about protecting the birds. The children seemed much inter- 
ested, and contributed their share in reciting or singing songs about birds and 
flowers.—HELEN W. GLOVER, Secretary 


298 Bird- Lore 


Delaware.—The work of the Delaware Audubon Society continues along 
the same lines, that is, getting new members. Apart from this, there is nothing 
of special mention—FLoreNce BayArRD HILies, Secretary. 


District of Columbia.—The work of our Society has progressed steadily 
during the past vear. The events of greatest interest being Mr. Kearton’s lecture 
and our usual field meetings. The latter have been well attended, a total of ninety 
persons going on the five walks and rro different kinds of birds being seen. 
On the second walk, a colony of Night Herons was visited, and between fifteen 
and twenty nests were found. Most of these contained young, who filled the 
woods with their hissing. In their anxiety, the parent birds came so near that 
their red eyes and the long filamentous plumes sould be easily distinguished. 

On another day, the Blue Grosbeak, one of the rare birds of this region, was 
noticed, and on the last walk the great event of the day was the sight of the 
Pileated Woodpecker, which has been seen in the vicinity of Washington only 
four times in twenty years. 

The five walks were productive of a number of rare birds; in addition to those 
already mentioned, were Henslow Sparrow, Summer Tanager, Golden-winged, 
Hooded, Kentucky and Worm-eating Warblers, Pine Siskin and Hairy Wood- 
pecker. 

Each year, our Society gives a number of free lectures, hoping to arouse the 
intelligent interest of the public. At our annual meeting in January, we had 
Mr. Edward Avis, of New York, whose imitation of bird notes by whistling, 
and on the violin, was much enjoyed, especially by the young people. 

All of our meetings have been well attended, but the treat of the year was 
the lecture by Mr. Kearton, of Surrey, England, illustrated by a remarkable 
series of moving pictures of birds (the first ever taken). These pictures were 
shown for the first time in America at the Executive Mansion, on the invitation 
of President Roosevelt. Mr. Kearton’s next lecture was given under the aus- 
pices of the National Geographic Society, from which 500 persons were turned 
away; so that our Society considered itself very fortunate to secure Mr. Kearton, 
and at once engaged the Columbia theater. To defray the unusually heavy 
expense, we charged an admission fee of twenty-five cents, and by five o’clock 
in the afternoon of the day on which the seats were put on sale not one of the 
1,300 seats was to be had. 

The lecture, with its marvelous pictures, was thoroughly enjoyed by all 
who had the privilege of hearing it. Mr. Kearton received an ovation, and was 
so much pleased with the appreciation shown that he declared his intention 
of returning to the United States next year to make a tour of the country. If 
he does, we can only hope that all members of the various Audubon Societies 
may have the privilege of hearing him—HELEN P. Cuitps, Secretary. 


State Audubon Reports 299 


Florida.—While the work of the Florida Audubon Society goes on with 
appreciable and increasing interest, it meets with many discouragements in non- 
enforcement of laws, illegal shooting, trapping of birds, plume-hunting, the shoot- 
ing of many birds which are ignorantly supposed to be destroying crops, and 
the slaughter of birds by the so-called ‘sportsman’ tourist. 

The membership list has increased, while the subcribers have responded 
as in former years, which, owing to the recent financial depression, was most 
gratifying, 

Warning-notices have been posted at all points where flagrant depredations 
occur. In this we have, as always, the help of the Southern Express Company. 
Printed cards giving a summary of the laws of Florida regarding birds, their 
nests and eggs, were placed in hotels, post offices and stores. Leaflets, circulars, 
reports and bulletins from the Agricultural Bureau at Washington have been 
widely circulated. The “Times-Union’ in its weekly edition publishes a sheet 
devoted to birds, especially as to their value to the farmer and fruit-grower; 
it has excited interest and led to the forming of new auxiliaries. Mrs. Bradt, 
in the ‘Sunshine Society’ column, never forgets the birds. 

‘Bird-Day’ has been observed with appropriate exercises in many towns, 
both under the auspices of women’s clubs and schools; notably at Ormond and 
Fairfield. At the commencement exercises of the Robert Hungerford Industrial 
and Normal School (colored), in Eatonville, prizes were given for bird essays. 
A prize for “‘pretecting nests and eggs” was given to Mrs Kirk Monroe’s Boys’ 
Club, ‘The Rangers.’ One year’s subscription to Brrp-Lore was given asa 
prize at Sanford. 

At the General Federation of Women’s Clubs held in Boston in June, Mrs. 
Kirk Munroe, as secretary of the Florida Federation, had on exhibition and for 
distribution Leaflets and reports of the Florida Audubon Society. 

There have been but three publications this year, but one of our Leaflets 
was adapted and reprinted by a sister Society. The most important of those 
printed was the ‘Check-list of Florida Birds’; it was modeled after the check- 
list of the Massachusetts Society, and arranged by Mr. Williams and Mr. 
Bowdish, of the National Association. Seventy-five Audubon charts are in 
circulation. It is a matter of regret that no chart has been published of the 
‘birds of the South,’ which would be of great benefit to Florida, Louisiana, 
Texas and all states below the Carolinas. 

The most recent reservation on the east coast, known as ‘Mosquito Inlet,’ 
adds another refuge and breeding-as well as breathing-place for Florida birds. 
Our thanks are due to President Roosevelt, our first Honorary vice-president, 
and to our honored vice-president, Mr. George N. Chamberlin, of Daytona, 
Florida, for their efforts and interest in securing this reservation. 

White Egrets, Blue Herons and Limpkins have been seen in new nesting- 
places. Quails have increased, as have many other birds. We have appeals 
from many quarters that Robins be put on the protected list. The importance 


300 Bird - Lore 


and need of a Game Commissioner is felt at every turn, although our sherifis 
have given more help than formerly. 

We should give public expression of our sorrow at the death of Hon. George 
W. Wilson, editor of the ‘Times-Union.’ Mr Wilson was a vice-president of our 
Society from its foundation, and his generous help and sympathy will never 
be forgotten. 

In the death of Ex-President Grover Cleveland, we meet with the loss of 
an Honorary Vice-president. Mr. Cleveland approved the efforts of our Society, 
and was a defender of the rights of the lower order of creation, as well as of 
the higher. While he was a sportsman, he was so in its best sense; for he believed 
that no cruelty or wanton sacrifice of life should be allowed or practiced. 

I but voice the feeling of all the officers of the Florida Audubon Society, 
as well as of all bird lovers, when I make a plea for some action to be taken by 
the National Association, in concert with the State Audubon Societies, to place 
restrictions on the shooting from ‘motor-boats,’ of birds and animals. Their 
destruction or slaughter is not perhaps realized; but in Florida, with its rivers, 
lakes, and beautifully wooded creeks, where birds have their haunts, is offered 
every inducement for a motor-boat, and shooting from it soon becomes a reck- 
less amusement; for, as the boat does not stop in its course, the dead or dying 
creatures are left on the water or shore. We.have reports of quantities of wild 
Ducks shot in this way, which have been found on the water or on the banks. 

The picture is before you—the cruelty is apparent! Cannot some action be 
taken to prohibit it?-—Mrs. Kincsmitt Marrs, Chairman of Executive Com- 
mittee. 


Illinois.—The annual meeting was held in May, and was most interesting 
because of the address of Dr. Lynds Jones of Oberlin College, Ohio, on ‘Sea Birds 
of the Washington Bird Reservation.’ At this meeting a resolution was passed, 
asking that the subject of bird protection be considered at the meetings on 
conservation of the nation’s resources to be held in Washington. Doubtless, 
the Iilinois Audubon Society was not the only one that felt that the birds deserved 
a place as a ‘resource’ of the nation, and those engaged in forestry work should 
recognize, more than they do, their important part in the preservation of the 
forests. The Society has sent out over seventeen thousand Leaflets this last 
year, the largest number in its history. It has also sent the little paper ‘By-the- 
Wayside’ to too teachers in the state. 

The Illinois Arbor- and Bird-Day Annual of this year was a credit to the 
state, much of its interest being due to the work of two members of the Audubon 
Society, Professors F. L. Charles and Thomas L. Hankinson. 

The Audubon Department in ‘School News,’ under the charge of Mrs. E. 
S. Adams, has been continued, and has brought large results in the increased 
interest of teachers and scholars. Owing also to the fact that in the Illinois 
‘course of study’ teachers were advised to write to the Audubon Society for 


State Audubon Reports 301 


material about birds, the secretary was almost overwhelmed in the spring with 
letters from teachers and pupils all over the state, and from other states as well. 
As there is an unusual demand for Leaflets at the date of writing (October), 
the interest bids fair to increase steadily this year. , 

A sketch of Audubon’s life, by Mr. E. B. Clark, was published in School 
News, which this Society expects to issue as a Leaflet. 

We have for the first time published a short report to be sent to members, 
covering the first decade of our work. 

We have added to our plant two new traveling libraries (known as the ‘Nancy 
Lawrence Memorial’ and the ‘Directors’ libraries), and five sets of pictures, 
too in each set, with descriptions of the birds under each picture. These sets 
are boxed, and form a loan collection for schools; they have proved a popular 
addition to our working force, and they—the lecture and the libraries—have been 
in demand almost constantly. 

We have heard from about eighty of our 102 counties, but are doing no better 
in the matter of local secretaries. 

We wish to claim a share with Florida in the honor due Mr. George N. Cham- 
berlin, of Illinois and Florida, in the setting apart of the Mosquito Inlet reser- 
vation, as Mr. Chamberlin is one of our vice-presidents. 

We have expended during the year $303.09, and have received $404.09. 
As we started the year with a balance of $196.93, our balance in May was $297.93. 
—Mary Drusmonn, Secretary. 


Indiana.—It used to be said, “When you are in Rome, do as the Romans 
do”; a later bit of advice is “ When you are in Rome, tell the Romans how you 
do it.” In reporting for this year, I shall be guided by the latter. 

The routine Audubon work has gone on about as usual this year, but we did 
hit our ‘high-water mark’ in our annual meeting and that I propose to tell about. 
For years we have held our annual meetings at various cities out in the state, 
always having the codperation of the school authorities, the local Audubon people 
and usually the club women. The meeting consists of four sessions and the 
programs are so planned that we have two evening meetings, popular in char- 
acter, for the general public. In the early part of Friday morning bird talks 
are given in every school in the city—not a child in school but hears about the 
birds. Later in the morning is held a meeting for Audubon workers for the 
reading and discussion of special papers, plans, etc. In the afternoon there is a 
meeting designed to be especially helpful to teachers and the older pupils of the 
schools, and in the evening the popular meeting. 

The meeting this year was held at Fort Wayne, the largest city we have yet 
attempted, because of the difficulty of getting enough attractive speakers to give 
bird talks in all the schools Friday morning. Fort Wayne has a strong local 
Society and promised help on the school bird talks and they supplied more 
than half of the speakers for their seventeen schools. 


302 Bird - Lore 


The Thursday evening meeting was held in the High School Auditorium 
with addresses of welcome, for the city, by Judge Taylor; for the schools, by 
the school superintendent and for the local Society by its president. Mrs. Gene 
Stratton-Porter, the author of ‘The Song of Cardinal’ and ‘What I Have Done 
with the Birds’ gave an address on “The Experiences of a Bird Woman’ telling 
of her work in getting photographs to illustrate her books. The music for this 
as well as Friday evening was furnished by the Girls’ Orchestra from the State 
School. _ 

Friday morning, from g till 10 o’clock, was ‘Bird Day’ in the Fort Wayne 
schools. Just a few of the schools had to wait for their “talks” until early 
afternoon but at some time in the day every child in the Fort Wayne schools 
heard about the birds. 

About 10.30, there was a conference of Audubon workers in the Museum 
Room of the Carnegie Library, the regular meeting place of the local Society. 
A history of the local Society was given by its president, a paper on bird anatomy 
by C. A. Stockridge, the economic value of birds by W. W. Woollen. Professor 
Mead, principal of the school in the Institute for Feeble Minded Youth, read 
a paper telling ‘What Birds Have Done for Defective Children,’ which presented 
a phase of Audubon work not familiar to the ordinary bird student. For this 
reason Professor Mead’s paper was of unusual interest and if I had not started 
out to tell the Romans how we do our annual meetings, I certainly should tell of 
the marvelous results obtained with these children through bird- and nature- 
study. 

Friday afternoon the schools were dismissed earlier than usual to give teachers 
and older pupils an opportunity to hear Dr. Dennis. Dr. Dennis is very popular 
not only with his old students at Earlham College but with Indiana people in 
general and the hall was filled to listen to his talk on ‘How to Attract Birds to 
Our Home and School Grounds.’ 

This year, for the first time, we had the pleasure and inspiration of the pres- 
ence of one of the officers of the National Association, the secretary, Mr. T. 
Gilbert Pearson, who not only filled his assigned place on the program, but 
helped out in the morning bird talks in the schools. As usual at all our meetings, 
the interest increased with every session and at the evening session of Friday 
the High School Auditorium was crowded to hear Mr. Pearson tell of the ‘Work 
of the Audubon Societies of America.’ The audience was deeply interested in 
the lecture and more than delighted with the stereopticon illustrations. Miss 
FLORENCE A. Howe, Secretary. 


Iowa.—The following is a partial report of work done in 1908: 

During the spring months, ten-minute talks were given the pupils of different 
grades in the Waterloo Public Schools, aggregating 1,100 children, thus arousing 
new interest in the study and protection of birds and resulting in the securing 
of the names of several adult and nearly one hundred junior members for the 


State Audubon Reports 303 


Audubon Society. Over one thousand colored plates and educational Leaflets 
were given the teachers, with the suggestion that the pupils be allowed to copy 
the colored pictures and write bird stories; also that the children be encouraged 
to make note of the date of the arrival of the different varieties of birds, during 
the spring migration. In many instances these suggestions were followed, with 
the result that in the annual exhibit of school work, the bird booklets were of 
especial interest. 

In June, two public meetings were held, one in each library, the interesting 
programs being given by the pupils of the different schools and the elder members 
of the Society. 

Through the efforts of our Secretary, Prof. John Cameron, of Kansas City, 
was secured by the local Chautauqua Association for the presentation of three 
illustrated lectures on the subjects of Nature and Birds. These lectures were 
practically interesting and profitable-——Mrs. W. B. SMALL, President. 


Kansas.—It is most singular that Kansas, one of the greatest agricultural 
states of the Union, with such a vast number of progressive citizens, should be 
among the last to recognize bird life as one of its chief assets. This territory 
is a portion of the great inland highway for bird migration to the northward 
in the spring and southward in the autumn, and immense hosts stop here for 
the summer sojourn. 

With some misgivings, an effort was made to combine the protests of bird- 
lovers and sportsmen against the appalling destruction of birds into a recogniz- 
able force. Happily, all doubts were dissipated by a unanimity that justified 
preliminary action in August to effect a regular Society for the protection of birds. 
On October 2, 1908, a permanent organization was founded, with a charter 
membership of forty-five, which may run up to sixty or seventy by the time 
we are ready to print our by-laws. A charter from the state of Kansas is now 
in process of completion. 

Among the things we hope to accomplish is the sancusliict of the present 
state bird laws to conform to the established standards elsewhere, and to pro- 
vide for the absolute protection of all harmless wild birds and animals. 

That there are several species of birds that are destructive to horticultural 
interests there is no doubt; but we hope to put a stop to the indiscriminate 
slaughter that is going on simply because a few species are harmful. Recently 
a man stated to me that he had used 2,400 gun shells during a single season, and 
I have been told of another that used 6,000 shells, directed against all classes 
of birds. 

Indifference to the crying evil of egg-stealing, skin-stuffing, summer shoot- 
ing (especially by the youth) and other vandalism against bird life is much 
more difficult to contend with than the instances quoted above. This state pos- 
sesses a full quota of bird-lovers, and a strong effort will be made to enlist their 
influence to make it possible for the feathered friends of the agriculturalist, 


304 Bird - Lore 


the horticulturist and the dweller in the city to come, rear their young and go 
without molestation. 

We have outlined a great work, and the spread of a healthy idea of complete 
protection to all harmless birds and animals is in the hands of leading repre- 
sentatives of the educational, professional and business life of the state. We 
therefore expect in the near future to take an advanced position among bird- 
protecting states of the Union. 

To all similar efforts we send greeting.—RicHARD H. SuLiivan, President. 


Louisiana.—The Audubon Society of Louisiana chronicles a year of great 
success. In the early part of the year we prepared two comprehensive measures 
to be introduced in our State Legislature. One thoroughly covered the protection 
of game birds, the other provided the creation of a State Commission for the 
protection of birds, game and fish, with self-sustaining warden service. 

With the aid of the National Association of Audubon Societies (which was 
freely accorded us) these measures were successfully presented to the legislature 
and subsequently became laws, and from now on, state control of this asset 
supersedes voluntary associated effort of individuals. 

In addition to obtaining these laws we successfully withstood an organized 
effort on the part of the millinery trade of the whole country to amend our present 
“non-game”’ bird law, in order to permit the selling of bird plumage. Possibly 
this was the most important event in the whole history of bird protection. 

Our reservations on the coast continue to give a good account of themselves. 
Thanks to the warden service maintained by the National Association, our bird- 
breeding islands to the eastward of the mouth of the Mississippi river gave 
to the almost depopulated waters of the Gulf upwards of sixty-two thousand 
Gulls and Terns; while to the westward of the river, a like number were prob- 
ably raised on islands over which very little warden service obtains for want of 
funds. 

From now on the Audubon Society can drop the undesirable phase of liti- 
gation to enforce the bird and game laws and enter the more congenial and true 
one of effort along educational lines in the public schools. 

In conclusion, we desire to call the attention of all Audubon Societies to the 
misnomers under which our efforts have been carried on. We refer to the desig- 
nations of ‘game’ and ‘non-game’ birds. In our opinion this is highly objection- 
able and should be superseded by the more comprehensive terms of ‘useful’ 
birds, comprising all the insectivorous and some vegetivorous birds. ‘Game’ 
birds comprising the wild sea and river Ducks, Geese, etc., and the ‘obnoxious’ 
birds, such as Cooper’s Hawk, Cowbird, Passer Domesticus and others. 

Such a nomenclature would bring the bird question right into the domain 
of the utilitarian and would vitally strengthen the plea for bird preservation.— 
FRANK M. Mitter, President. 


State Audubon Reports 305 


Maine.—The interest in bird protection in Maine continues to spread. So 
far as known, the large colonies of birds on the coast have been unmolested, 
and no unfavorable breeding conditions have come to notice. 

Common Terns returned to the Outer Green Island in considerable numbers, 
and a few dozens bred successfully. —ArTHUR H. Norton, Secretary. 


Maryland.—There is but little new to report this year. The game laws 
were slightly modified at the last meeting of the legislature. 

An encouraging feature, however, has been the desire on the part of indi- 
viduals in different counties of the state to form local societies in their respective 
communities. Good laws will be the inevitable fruit of a growth in knowledge 
of bird life; so educational work, the most important work of all, will continue 
in Maryland.—Mrnna D. Starr, Secretary. 


Massachusetts.—It is pleasant to be able to report another successful 
year with a gain of 321 members. Our membership is now 6,870, which includes 
2,174 juniors and 123 local secretaries. 

Our work has been done along the usual lines. A large number of educational 
and other Leaflets, warning notices in English and Italian, and copies of the 
law have been freely distributed. Our four traveling libraries have been used 
continuously and there has been a good demand for our bird charts, plates and 
calendars Our three traveling lectures have been used in a number of schools. 

We are publishing another calendar this fall, printed in Japan, with six new 
plates of birds, uniform in style and artistic merit with our calendars for the 
past three years. 

Much interest was taken in legislative matters last winter, and a special 
effort was made to help the passage of a bill to prohibit spring shooting. Several 
hundred circular letters were sent out announcing the hearing on the bill and giv- 
ing the reasons why it should be passed. _ This bill was referred to the next Gen- 
eral Court. Several other bills called for special interest in our part. Among them 
one to abolish our excellent Fish and Game Commission on the ground of econ- 
omy, which did not get beyond its first hearing; one to create the office of State 
Ornithologist, connected with the State Board of Agriculture, which passed; 
and a hunters’ license bill, which also passed, to go into effect January 1, 1909. 

Constant war was waged on milliners and hairdressers who tried to use 
aigrettes, etc. All that were discovered were reported to the state officers, the 
Fish and Game Commission, and their cases were promptly attended to. The 
Commission sent out a deputy who did splendid work in a number of cities in 
the state, bringing the offenders into court when he found the feathers of Herons, 
Terns, etc., in their stock. They also had postals printed stating the law in regard 
to the use, or possession of, feathers from birds protected by our state laws, 
which were sent out by our Society as well as by the Commission. 

Besides the regular monthly meetings of the Board of Directors, a conference 


306 Bird - Lore 


of the New England Audubon Societies was held, which was not very well at- 
tended, and a successful course of four lectures was given, with Rev. Herbert 
K. Job, Mr. Ernest Harold Baynes, Mr. Henry Oldys and Mr. William Lyman 
Underwood as lecturers.—JeEsstE E. KIMBALL, Secretary. 


Michigan.—The Michigan Audubon Society has made a special fight for 
the preservation of game-birds by protecting the nesting-grounds. The State 
Game Warden has done better work than his predecessor against whom our 
Society waged a war. Some of the local‘deputies have been efficient but gen- 
erally speaking there has been little improvement in deputies. The Audubonists 
have joined with the Michigan Association in asking for improvements in game 
conditions. Mr. Charles Pierce, the game warden, has attended the meetings 
of the Association and agreed to aid in bringing about the abolishment of spring 
shooting. This we hope to accomplish in the legislature during the coming winter. 
The Women’s Clubs of the state have started a crusade against bird millinery. 
They have also helped in bringing Audubon work before the schools. The Audu- 
bon Society became a member of the Michigan State Humane Association and 
has spread the work in this way, that is, by coOperating with the various humane 
societies. 

Our Society has given a number of prizes to schools and clubs. Five local 
Audubon Societies have been organized during the year and some of them have 
been quite active. Last winter one man made $1,800 killing English Sparrows 
in Detroit. In the country districts many Goldfinches, Chickadees and Tree 
Sparrows were destroyed and a bounty was collected on them as English Spar- 
rows. For this reason we are asking that the bounty law on English Sparrows 
be repealed. Detroit suffered greatly by the destruction of trees from insects 
during the spring and summer. This the citizens agree was caused through 
the killing of the Sparrows. The Audubon Society will insist on experts destroy- 
ing the Sparrows if it is considered necessary to have them removed. We find 
that the bounty on Sparrows encourages bad habits in boys. 

Mr. Henry Oldys spoke on government work in preserving the birds, before 
an audience of 800 in Detroit. The secretary has given fifteen lectures, with 
stereopticon views in various parts of the state. Prof. W. B. Barrows has been 
helping by correcting the erroneous summary of the state laws published by the 
Secretary of State. The forces for the protection of animal and birds were never 
before united in Michigan as they are now and generally improved conditions 
are looked for.—JEFFERSON BUTLER, Secretary. 


Mississippi.—For three years after the passage of the A. O. U. Model Law 
in 1904, Mississippi did nothing to follow up her advantage. But the appoint- 
ment of Special Agent H. H. Kopman marked the beginning of a new era. 

During the summer of 1907, Mr. Kopman gave talks in many parts of the 
state, in connection with the Farmers’ Institutes. He carefully prepared, during 


State Audubon Reports 307 


this time, a list of available material; and a charter membership of 239 was enrolled 
before the widely advertised Audubon Society organization meeting took place. 
The week of the State Fair was selected as a favorable time for organization; 
and through the National Association an exhibit was made at the Fair for more 
than a week. Specimens for this exhibit were also borrowed from the Museum 
of Tulane University, New Orleans. A register was kept of the visitors to the 
exhibit, and reply cards soliciting membership were sent to them. This, how- 
ever, met with little success; and most of the good accomplished was probably 
through the literature distributed, setting forth the purposes of the proposed 
organization. 

Without going farther into the details of organization than to say that it took 
place on November g, in Jackson, we will state briefly the work done. 

Reply cards have been sent to selected persons in all parts of the state, and 
by this and other means the membership has been increased to 302. Circulars 
for posting have been sent to about seven hundred and fifty Mississippi post- 
offices, by permission of the Department; this work will be continued. Much 
publicity has been given the work from its inception by articles of varying nature 
in the Jackson daily papers, which have been in steady sympathy with us, 
especially the ‘Daily News,’ whose city editor is chairman of our Committee 
on Publicity. And of very great importance is the work now being undertaken 
of sending out 10,000 circulars to state and county fairs during this fall, setting 
forth the advantages to the farmer of the Audubon work, of publishing in every 
paper in the state a regular publicity communication, and of combining in the 
most intimate way possible publicity and popular education, by means of a series 
of illustrated lectures by Special Agent Kopman. 

A series of articles by Mr. Kopman in the ‘Farmers’ Union Advocate’, in 
which he replied to attacks made on the proposed warden system, and on the 
work of the Society in general, did good, it is hoped; they certainly reached many 
farmers all over the state, and probably assisted in clearing us of suspicion 
of ‘graft.’ 

Careful and persistent work was done by Mr. Kopman in Jackson, in pre- 
venting violation of the laws forbidding the sale of game. One affidavit was made 
and conviction secured, and we think the local trade was almost stopped. Presi- 
dent Hemingway is memorializing the thirteen circuit judges to charge their 
grand juries in regard to the game laws. 

No legislation was secured; but the bill providing for a state warden and 
license system was favorably reported in House and Senate, and would certainly 
have passed if adjournment had not prevented. Governor Noel is committed 
to the cause and would gladly have signed the bill if it had come to him. 

The educational outlook is good. Mr. Kopman made addresses to teachers’ 
associations in five counties, and has talked in the schools of a number of im- 
portant towns and cities. The State Superintendent of Education has given us 
hearty support and our work has been endorsed in the Mississippi ‘School Journal,’ 


308 Bird - Lore 


the official organ of State Education. Local chapters have been founded here 
and there, with a membership of over one hundred school children at Ellisville, 
and local secretaries at the State University, and the two largest colleges report 
excellent prospects for the winter. The secretary read at the annual meeting of 
the State Teachers’ Association a paper which was well received, and he has 
already been engaged to conduct a course in bird study at one of the summer 
Normal Schools during the summer of t909g.—ANDREW ALLISON, Secretary. 


Nebraska.—While our Society has had no unusual growth in the year past, 
we do notice a continued increase in interest in bird life and study. We held the 
annual field-day with the Nebraska Ornithologists’ Union at Childs Point, several 
miles south of Omaha, it being one of the best regions for observation in the 
state. At our request the Nebraska Ornithologists’ Union have published a 
field Check-list of common eastern, common western, rare and accidental species 
reported in the state, some four hundred in all. Bird guides have been put into 
the traveling libraries sent over the state by the Library Commission. The 
increase of nature study in our schools results in the delight possible from an 
acquaintance with birds, and makes them more and more appreciated. The 
Public Library in this city will exhibit a collection of our common birds in spring 
and fall plumage, together with their nests. Had we means to print and circulate 
more literature, we believe that the children in the state might be incited to join 
heartily in a movement to give wild birds more and better protection.—JoHNn 
R. Towne, President. 


New Hampshire.—The work of the New Hampshire Audubon Society 
during the past year has been chiefly educative. We have continued to circulate 
literature, and have concentrated our attention on schools in the remoter rural 
districts, supplying them with bird charts, pictures and books. 

In order to increase the circulation of the book ‘Useful Birds and Their Pro- 
tection,’ by Edward Howe Forbush, we have sent printed circulars describing 
and recommending the book to the 300 librarians of New Hampshire. 

Arrangements have been made to insert in the leading newspaper of the 
state Mr. Forbush’s semi-monthly articles on bird protection and the work of 
the Audubon Societies. At our annual meeting Mr. Forbush gave his lecture, 
‘What Birds Do for Man, and What Man Should Do for Birds.’ 

Mr. Abbott H. Thayer has written an ‘Appeal to Sportsmen’ in behalf of 
the Ruffed Grouse, urging a five-year close period, and the Society has taken 
measures to have this appeal published in the leading papers of the state. 

Through the solicitation of the Society, the lecture ‘The Ministry of Birds,’ 
by Dr. W. R. Lord, was included in the course given by the Manchester Insti- 
tute of Arts and Sciences. 

The good news has come to us from the Fish and Game Commissioners 
that there is already evidence that the law passed at the last session of the legis- 


State Audubon Reports 309 


lature, giving a five-year close season on Wood Duck and Upland Plover, has 
resulted in an increase of numbers of those species.—Mrs. F. W. BATCHELDER, 
Secretary. 


New Jersey.—lIt is very evident that there is no falling off in bird interest 
in this state, if we can judge by the number of persons who are learning to iden- 
tify them, and by the books advertised and sold. Interest in all outdoor sports 
and in nature study has increased, and bird study comes in for its share. The 
majority of persons, however, feel that they can pursue this study by themselves, 
and the need of joining a Society or helping in the prosecution of offenders does 
not present itself to them. 

_ The chief work done by the New Jersey Society during the past year has been 
the sending out of several thousand circular letters on the occasion of the spring- 
shooting bill which was introduced into the Senate last spring. A bill was also intro- 
duced relating to the selling of game-birds within the state of New Jersey. An effort 
was made to introduce to the teachers of the public schools the Audubon Leaflets 
on bird-boxes, with illustrated examples which would appeal to children and 
enable them to construct these little boxes and bird-houses for themselves. Al- 
though no reply came from the hundred or more school principals to whom 
these Leaflets were furnished, it is hoped that an impulse was given in the right 
direction, and probably a similar attempt will be made during the coming winter. 
Jutta S. ScrrBNER, Secretary. 


New Jersey.—The La Rue Holmes Nature Lovers’ League, organized two 
years ago, at Summit, New Jersey, for the further protection of the flora and 
fauna of this country, is a progressive movement accomplishing much in the 
formation of human character through its precepts of self-sacrifice, as well as 
in the protection of nature’s riches in the locality where it chiefly obtains. 

Composed of thirty chapters, chiefly in schools, both public and private, 
it is usually accepted as a united school movement, all pupils being members, 
the entire membership numbering about three thousand. 

As a means of increasing sentiment in behalf of protection of forests, native 
plants and animal life, ninety lectures have recently been given, twenty-five of 
which were by Mr. Beecher S. Bowdish, of the Audubon Society. About 20,000 
pictures of birds and 10,500 Leaflets have been distributed during the last ten 
months in this interest. Of the hundreds of essays written by pupils, based on 
information received from such sources chiefly, eighty-three of those submitted 
to the League Essay Committee have been printed in various periodicals. 

About two hundred and sixty petitions were sent out through the interest 
of League chapters and 500 circular letters of the Audubon Society distributed, 
when the New Jersey Legislalure was in session, in behalf of bills affording 
absolute protection to the game birds of the state. 

Over five hundred folders of the American Forestry Association were dis- 


310 Bird - Lore 


tributed during the last session of Congress, among the clergy and other promi- 
nent members of Society, in behalf of the Appalachian and White Mountain 
bill, for the preservation of our forests. 

In the interests of industry and nature study, packages of garden seeds were 
distributed among all pupils of six of the League Chapters. 

A present League interest is the completion of the fund to be appropriated 
to the purchase of a bird refuge on the New Jersey coast. But a while ago, thou- 
sands of Gull wings swept in untold beauty on errands of usefulness over New 
Jersey’s shores; today, through woman’s demand for their plumage, a few hun- 
dreds linger around the old nesting-place, and these only through the vigilance 
ofthe Audubon Society, whose wardens act as guards. The La Rue Holmes 
Nature League is seeking the means necessary to make this breeding-ground 
the possession of the Gulls, and other shore birds, for all the future —-GEORGIANA 
K. Hoimes, General Secretary. 


New York.—Governor Hughes’ suggestion that the entire bird and game 
laws should be revised resulted in the adoption of the Cobb-Mills Bills. Mr. 
Dutcher urged several amendments to these bills, and was successful in secur- 
ing “no open season at any time for the Wood Duck;” also a month’s additional 
protection on Long Island for shore-birds. Other legislative action favorable 
to birds’ protection was the increase of the non-resident and alien hunters’ 
license to twenty dollars; resident license, one dollar. 

The amendments recommended by Mr. Dutcher which failed to pass were: 
To prevent possession of wild-fowl sixty days after beginning of the close season; 
to prohibit killing of Brant from January 1, to May 1; to secure protection for 
the Snowy Owl, the useful Hawks, and the Crow Blackbird; to prohibit the sale 
of the plumage of wild birds wheresoever killed. A vigorous effort will be made 
made to secure the passage of these amendments the coming session of the 
Legislature. 

At the annual meeting of the Society, which was held on March 19, 1908, 
Prof. Henry Fairfield Osborn was elected President. 

The new certificate, in colors, is now ready for distribution. The present 
membership is 9,403. 

The routine of the work of the New York Society has been the same as in 
the past, and until the movement takes firmer hold upon the public conscience 
and larger contributions are received, and more clerical aid secured, no great 
change is to be expected. 

In Buffalo, a Society is being organized to increase the interest in Audubon 
work in that city. This will be an important factor in the development of bird 
protection in the western portion of the state. 

A year ago, an enthusiastic local secretary moved to Binghamton and reported 
great need of the work there. Last spring she wrote that “interest is on the 
increase, ’’ and now she asks for “double the amount of literature sent last year, 


State Audubon Reports 311 


>] 


as there is great demand for it.”” This is only typical of the growth of the work, 
were the Society able to be more liberal in supplying the demands created by 
these past twelve years of effort. Another local secretary writes: “I find the 
people in the country and small towns are just waiting to have this work broached 
to them, to go into it heart and soul.” Thus, the ever-present problem of how 
to increase the income of the Society is now more than ever urgent. The Society 
is now doing a tithe of the work which might be done were more funds at its 
command.—Emma H. Lockwoop, Secretary. 


North Carolina.—In certain respects, the work in North Carolina for the 
past year has been on a decidedly larger scale than theretofore. The Secretary 
of the Society, assisted by Miss Mary T. Moore, the School Secretary, has given 
a large number of lectures and bird talks throughout the state, principally to 
gatherings of teachers and farmers. Five thousand copies of the game laws, 
besides many thousands of leaflets and cloth posters, have been distributed, 
and numbers of articles for the public press have been prepared and sent out. 

During the year seventy-nine game wardens were employed, a larger number 
than any previous year. As a result of their activities, the Society brought 274 
prosecutions in the State Courts for violations of the bird and game protective 
laws. In 245 of these cases the defendants were convicted and fined. The ma- 
jority of these convictions were for infringements of laws protecting game birds 
or animals, but twenty-five cases were for killing Robins, and nineteen cases 
were for killing non-game birds such as Mockingbirds, Nighthawks, Cuckoos, 
Herons and Bluebirds. 

During the year we purchased an additional launch, ‘The Dovekie,’ which 
has since been doing patrol work in Currituck Sound. Our legislature was called 
in special session during the month of January, and several local game laws 
of a restrictive nature were passed. Some of these bills were drafted by the secre- 
tary of the Audubon Society. 

In connection with the State Geological Survey, we are preparing to publish 
an illustrative work on the birds of North Carolina, at a contemplated expen- 
diture of about five thousand dollars. This work will be sent gratis to over 
two thousand Public School Libraries in the state. 

We received $8,776.12 from the state, our total income amounting to $23,- 
115.33; and our expenditures were $13,275.26, leaving an overdraft of $159.93. 
—T. GILBERT PEARSON, Secretary. 


North Dakota.—The work of the North Dakota Audubon Society for 
the year ending October 30, 1908, has been for the most part along the line of 
creating public sentiment in favor of the protection of bird life. A series of well- 
attended free lectures was given during the winter months under the auspices 
,of the Society. In December, Mr. Enos A. Mills, lecturer for the United States 
Forestry Bureau, spoke to three large audiences of the value of trees and birds, 


B12 Bird - Lore 


creating much favorable comment. The subjects treated later in the series were 
‘Uncommon Birds of Stump Lake,’ ‘Faunal Areas of North Dakota,’ ‘Familiar 
Bird Families and How to Know Them’ and ‘How to Attract the Birds to Our 
Houses.’ As the Hawks and Owls arrived in the spring of 1908, carefully pre- 
pared articles on local species with special reference to their value as pest destroy- 
ers were published in local papers. During the summer of 1908, a local Society 
was organized, through the efforts of Mrs. William Falger, at Devil’s Lake. 

At the annual meeting held October 30, 1907, Dr. R. T. Young was made 
president and Mrs. A. G. Leonard, secretary and treasurer.—Mrs. A. G. LEo- 
NARD, Secretary. 


Ohio.—The past year has been marked by increased enthusiasm among 
the members, and consequently greater personal effort on the part of various 
individuals to keep the work of the Society before the public, as well as to refresh 
their own lives by ‘listening to stars and to birds, to babes and to sages with 
open heart.’ 

Apropos of babes: We have begun to organize bird clubs in the various public 
schools and-in even some of the exclusive private institutions, and, whereas 
we started out with the modest hope of interesting only a few children in the 
several districts, the result more than justified our efforts. At present there 
are over six hundred and twenty-five children the proud possessors of an Audu- 
bon button, many provided with guides, and we believe that, if we can keep 
in close touch with these children for four or five years, the protection and appre- 
ciation of birds will be well assured. 

The movement is still in the experimental stage. Last year’s series of illus- 
trated lectures drew such large attendences that Mr. Hodges, Librarian of the 
Public Library of Cincinnati, offered us the free use of all the Branch Libraries. 
We therefore hope to properly organize and systematize the work for the coming 
year. 

The work of the Society in prosecuting milliners for the sale of birds and 
aigrettes attracted a great deal of attention. And while, for the most part, we 
dislike the aggressive method, we found that the ‘notoriety’ did much to awaken 
public sentiment, even if it did not decrease the sale of aigrettes. At present, 
Mr. Speaks, the Chief Warden of Columbus, Ohio, has agreed to defend the 
case vs. the appeal of one of the milliners, in his attempt to test the law. If the 
law can be found wanting, we shall need to remodel it; otherwise there ought 
to be more attempts made to enforce it. 

The Program Committee provided a series of interesting speakers for our 
regular meetings, and these were much enjoyed. Usually, the topic of the after- 
noon lead into general discussion and debate, which was not the least enjoyable 
part of the program. 

There has been much correspondence with persons throughout the state 
about organizing branch societies, and many leaflets have been distributed. 


State Audubon Reports 218 


The Bounty Bill for Hawks and Owls was defeated, thanks to the prompt 
efforts put forth to crush it. 

More than the usual number of requests for speakers from our Society have 
been called for by other organizations, and these have done much to stimulate 
in others a keener appreciation of the beauties of nature. Mr. Wm. Hubbell 
Fisher, the President of our Society, lead them all in point of number, having 
given of his valuable time to lecture or talk on trees and birds before a half dozen 
different assemblages. 

Last, but by no means least, our field meetings have been a grand success. 
Every week saw parties of bird-lovers, armed with cameras, guide-books and 
glasses, start out on these delightful excursions. Whatever effort was required 
to make it possible for some of us to attend was more than repaid by the number 
of species noted, and by the sweet serenity of spring. 

It was, for some of us, our first formal introduction to nature, and we hope 
sincerely to be able to make her further acquaintance. The success of these 
meetings was largely due to the patience and ability to impart knowledge on the 
part of our two guides—Mrs. Hermine Hansen, as botanist and zodlogist, and 
Mr. Wm. Cramer, as ornithologist. That the coming year may be as full of 
endeavor and accomplishment, is our earnest wish.—M. KATHERINE RATTER- 
MANN, Secretary. 


Oklahoma.—Outside of the distribution of bird literature, there was little 
accomplished by our State Society, except the work before the state legislature. 
We are in need of more and better organization throughout our new state.— 
Atma Carson, Secretary. 


Oregon.—Our Society has been active during the past year in distributing 
educational leaflets to farmers, fruit-growers, teachers and ladies of fashion. 
We expect to pursue the same course during the coming winter. 

The boys of the Manual Training School, under the patronage of our Society, 
made a success with their bird-nesting-box exhibit. We have made arrange- 
ments with the director of the school to follow this still further in the winter’s 
work. The second of the series of bird leaflets, written by Mr. Finley, and 
published under the authority of the University of Oregon, was issued during 
the year; it deals with the economic value of the birds common about our state. 
This, with the first leaflet, we have used to much advantage in our educational 
work. 

At a meeting of the Oregon Fish and Game Association, last spring, it was 
proposed to submit a bill to the next legisiature, extending the spring shooting 
of Ducks up to March 1. The Audubon Society passed resolutions against this 
step, and will make a determined fight if such a bill is introduced. We have 
secured the support of the best class of sportsmen against extending the season; 
public sentiment seems opposed to the spring shooting of wild fowl. 


314 Bird - Lore 


An active campaign for life members in this Society was undertaken during 
the spring. Twelve were secured at the payment of twenty-five dollars each. 
Four hundred dollars was subscribed by our Society for: Messrs. Bohlman and 
Finley to make a trip into Southeastern Oregon in quest of bird knowledge. 

The report of these gentlemen upon this trip resulted in the establishment 
of Klamath and Malheur Lake Reservations, thus placing Oregon as one of 
the best-equipped states in the Union for the protection of wild birds. 

A year ago, Three Arch Rocks Reservation was set aside by President Roose- 
velt. The sea-birds have been well protected under Warden Phelps, of the last- 
mentioned reservation. 

Klamath and Malheur Lakes are the greatest breeding and feeding grounds 
on the Pacific Coast for various kinds of water-fowl, notably the Grebe. Plans 
are under way to have these birds guarded and protected. Klamath and Malheur 
Reservations are large,—they require active wardens fearless in the work; to 
get these, money is necessary. Reservations without wardens are of little effect. 
This problem is urgently before us.—EmmMa J. WELTY, Corresponding Secretary. 


Pennsylvania.—The Society had a most excellent start given to its enthu- 
siasm for bird study in the beginning of the winter by the meeting of the Ameri- 
can Ornithologists’ Union, in Philadelphia, in December 1907. The Audubon 
members who availed themselves of the open session of the Union heard some 
most interesting papers, and had opportunities of meeting a number of well- 
known ornithologists. 

The Society was also fortunate in having a lecture given by Mr. Kearton 
of England, which was most interesting. 

A large number of leaflets have been distributed during the year, and able 
assistance in this work has been given by different Children’s societies, such as 
‘Mercy Bands,’ etc. 

The traveling libraries of the Society have had new books added to them,— 
“Gray Lady’ and ‘The Sport of Bird Study,’—both very popular with the chil- 
dren, and the libraries. (which are under Miss Hilda Justice’s management) 
have been sent to different applicants through the state, as usual. 

The regular course of lectures at the Academy of Natural Sciences on ‘Our 
Common Birds’ by Mr. Witmer Stone, president of the Pennsylvania Society, 
had a very large attendance this year. 

A most interesting feature during the past year has been the gradual increase 
of requests for ‘something to read about birds,’ as well as the demand for ‘colored 
pictures’ on all occasions. 

The secretary finds that a list of good bird books with a brief outline of the 
contents of each book, the cost and where chey may be obtained, is a welcome 
addition to the leaflets to many of the country applicants for bird information. 

Mr. Forbush’s valuable book, ‘Useful Birds and Their Protection’, has 
given great help and satisfaction to out-of-town members. 


State Audubon Reports 315 


In closing, the secretary begs to thank all the state Societies which have sent 
their leaflets or local reports to her. It is most helpful to have this interchange 
of ideas, and the reports of work accomplished have been most suggestive and 
encouraging to start new lines of work in Pennsylvania.—ELizaABETH WILSON 
FISHER, Secretary. 


Rhode Island.—The Audubon Society of Rhode Island reports definite 
progress this year, notwithstanding the resignation of its efficient secretary, 
Mrs. Henry T. Grant. 

During the year four local secretaries ive been appointed, making a total 
of thirty-one. The entire number of members is 1,988. Two new classes of mem- 
bers have been added: ‘Sustaining Members,’ with annual fee of five dollars, 
and ‘Junior Members’ (under sixteen years) with a fee of ten cents in one pay- 
ment. Juniors at sixteen are expected to join one of the classes of adult members. 
These changes are designed to give a more adequate, regular income and a com- 
pact working membership. 

An effort has been started to introduce bird study into the city schools with 
favorable results in Providence and East Providence. Six thousand leaflets 
have been distributed and a number of bird charts. The Society has published 
a special bulletin of valuable suggestions for bird-study indoors and outdoors 
at different seasons, entitled ‘One Way to Study the Birds,’ by Mrs. H. E. Walter. 
A report has also been issued including full lists of officers and active members 
with addresses. 

One thousand leaflets about feather wearing have been distributed to the 
Federation of Women’s Clubs, and 200 signatures obtained of those willing 
to give up the use of feathers. 

Rhode Island was favored in having Mr. Edward H. Forbush here through 
the winter. He worked up an interest in bird legislation which resulted in four 
bills for bird protection being introduced into the Senate. The one for the pro- 
tection of shore birds from January 1 to August 1 passed both houses and became 
a law. An appropriation of $1,000 was added to the e302 2 now available for 
the work of the bird commissioners of the state. 

Both Mr. Forbush and Mr. Frank M. Chapman have given interesting free 
lectures under the auspices of the Society during the last winter. 

Seven traveling bird libraries have been in constant use in rural districts, 
and a traveling lecture, with excellent stereopticon illustrations, has been enjoyed 
several times in Rhode Island and in Illinois and Michigan.—ALice W. WILcox, 
Secretary. 


Texas.—For twelve months, ending October 5, all the activities the Texas 
secretary could lend, all the time possible to spare from newspaper engagements, 
have been earnestly dedicated to Audubon work, with fruitful results in arousing 
interest in the preservation of birds and in promoting the organization of branch 


316 Bird - Lore 


societies, 85 per cent of such societies having been formed in the universities, 
academies, and public schools. 

In the strenuous efforts made during the current year, I desire to express 
grateful appreciation for encouragement afforded the Texas Audubon Society 
by Governor Tom Campbell, Attorney-General R. V. Davidson, Turner E. 
Hubby, Hon. E. W. Kirkpatrick, of McKinney, President of the Texas Farmers 
Congress; Dr. R. B. Cousins, of Austin; State Superintendent of Public Instruc- 
tion; Col. R. T.. Milner, President of the Agricultural and Mechanical College; 
Dr. H. H. Harrington, former President of the same, now in charge of the state 
experiment stations; Prof. Wesley Peacock of San Antonio, President of the 
Peacock Military School; Hon. John A. Porter of Paris, Texas, General Manager 
of the Paris Transit Company; Hon. George H. Hogan of Ennis, Miss Kate 
Friend, President of the Waco Federation of Women’s Clubs; Dr. H. P. Attwater, 
Industrial Agent of the Southern Pacific; Hon. W. W. Seley, President of the 
Waco Business Men’s Club; Hon. Homer D. Wade, Secretary of the Stamford 
Business Men’s Club; to the entire press of the state, and to ministers and edu- 
cators in general. 

In lecturing with and without the lantern and slides, covering a territory 
in Texas equal to three or four of the smaller eastern states, the lectures have 
been invariablv received with kindness and consideration and have been accorded 
all the attention and assistance we needed. In every case, the Audubon lecturers 
have been permitted to use large halls, auditoriums and opera-houses, and have 
been afforded plenty of light, and have had the assistance of intelligent and 
helpful ladies and gentlemen who lent their skill, energy and high social stand- 
ing in making the lectures successful; in more than one case, young ladies handling 
the stereopticon. 

As long as the railways were permitted to do so, they gave free transpor- 
tation, and, that courtesy having been cut off by legislative enactment, the rail- 
way officials continue by every means in their power to aid the Audubon work. 

The volume of bird life in Texas is on the increase, except Doves, Water-fowl, 
and Prairie Chickens. Ruthless Dove slaughter broke out the latter part of last 
August, and has not yet ceased, in spite of vigorous efforts to suppress it. With 
inadequate revenue to support it, the state warden system has not been fully 
able to cope with the situation, but has done a great deal toward the suppression 
of the inveterate butchery directed especially against Doves. 

Gun clubs at Houston and Beaumont have been active in protecting both 
water-fowl and game generally in the regions contiguous to the Gulf of Mexico, 
while in the northwestern Texas counties land owners, railway men, and state 
officials have done much for the protection of antelopes, deer, Wild Turkeys 
and Prairie Chickens. 

In all the work accomplished, the Texas Audubon Society proved the most 
prominent agency in the state in encouraging the preservation of wild life, in 
fields, forest, and on the plains. 


State Audubon Reports 317 


The Texas Audubon Society has gained the respect and admiration of the 
entire law-abiding population of Texas, and we hope and believe that the next 
legislature will provide revenues sufficient for the support of a fully effective 
warden system. With the limited means at their disposal, Col. R. H. Wood, 
the state warden, and Capt. R. W. Lorence, chief deputy warden, have accom- 
plished wonders, and have demonstrated that with adequate means they would 
be able to convert Texas into a vast and princely bird and game preserve, the 
greatest preserve on the planet.—M. B. Davis, Secretary. 


Vermont.—In February, 1908, the Audubon Society of Vermont was reorgan- 
ized with the following officers: President, Prof. J. W. Votey, University cf Ver- 
mont, Burlington; secretary, Carlton D. Howe, Essex Junction; treasurer Miss 
Emma E. Drew, Burlington; first vice-president, Mrs. E. B. Davenport, Brattle- 
boro; second vice-president, Miss Cora I. Tarbox, Essex Junction. 

Since reorganization, the secretary has given forty-four bird talks and lec- 
tures, thirty-eight before school children in as many different schools, two before 
Teachers’ Conventions, one before a meeting of School Superintendents, one 
before a Bird Club, and one each before an Epworth League and a Missionary 
Institute. 

Over three thousand Audubon Leaflets have been distributed, chiefly to 
teachers, in all parts of the state. 

The biennial session of the legislature convenes this month. An effort will 
be made to strengthen the existing bird law by placing certain unprotected birds 
upon the protected list. 

An increased interest in bird study and an increase of sentiment toward bird 
protection is noticeable among the general public, especially among educators 
and school children. 

There has been an increase in membership in both departments. The So- 
ciety in Burlington now numbers 500 members.—Cariton D. Howe, Sec- 
retary. 


Washington.—I find that the conditions of this state are rapidly changing 
for better bird protection, and the laws of this state are fairly well observed. I 
also find that game wardens throughout the principal counties of this state are 
doing everything in their power to help enforce the laws for the protection of 
both game- and song-birds. 

I have made arrangements with the public schools in Seattle, and will endeavor 
to do the same in other cities of this state, for the building of nesting-boxes. 

The pamphlets you sent me some time ago are being distributed to the several 
manual-training departments of the public schools throughout this state. I have 
in this city kindred organizations that are constantly furnishing aid along these 
lines. 

While our state organization is not so strong as I should like to have it, I 


318 Bird - Lore 


am pleased to say it has done wonders. Since this organization has been formed, 
I find that the children, in many instances, are well posted on bird life, habits, 
etc. Our president, Mr. W. Leon Dawson, is constantly working in the field, 
both in research and educational lines, and I, as secretary of this Association, 
look forward to a prosperous year for 1909.—H. RieEp, Secretary. 


Wisconsin.—The Audubon work in ‘this state, for which the Wisconsin 
Audubon Society stands responsible, is progressing well. Through the general 
interest and assistance of the state newspapers, its purpose and labors are be- 
coming widely known, and the number of its loyal friends and co-workers is 
increasing steadily. 

During the past year, hundreds of Audubon Leaflets have been distributed 
among the public libraries and among educators and others in a position to aid. 

Other helpful literature has also been widely circulated. The circulation 
of ‘By-the-Wayside,’ the official organ of the Wisconsin and Illinois Societies, 
so ably edited by Mr. Thomas R. Maybe, secretary of the Children’s Department, 
has also been slightly increased. 

The Society’s libraries of bird books and stereopticon lectures have been 
in frequent demand. The State Game Warden’s office, with which the Society 
is acting in full accord, has succeeded in bringing to justice a considerable number 
of persons guilty of wantonly destroying bird life. 

Correspondence has been conducted with Audubon Societies and unattached 
workers in other states,and the interest in the protection of bird and animal life 
thus assisted. 

In the State Historical Museum, at Madison, a bulletin-board, giving infor- 
mation of the Audubon work, has been erected, and by this means the Society’s 
work is brought to the notice of thousands of visitors. 

Teachers’ institutes and other gatherings have also been addressed by various 
members. 

The annual meetings of the Society was held at Madison, on the evening of 
May 29. 

Dr. R. H. Dennison was elected president, and Mr. Charles E. Brown secre- 
tary and treasurer for the ensuing year. Mrs. Joseph Zastraw and Mrs. R. G. 
Thwaites were chosen vice-presidents. Mr. Thomas R. Maybe will continue 
in charge of the Children’s Department.—CHartes E. Brown, Secretary. 


List of Members 


319 


LIST OF MEMBERS OF THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION 
OF AUDUBON SOCIETIES 


BENEFACTOR 
PAU DEGPAR VIN COR aa sey shes cenccheme feta netstoat nian ¢-SMte ancl, crn shaver <toreroue’s 1906 
LIFE MEMBERS 
amerott, William Pion sets achat emis 1906 | Hunnewell, H.S.. Ser Ae Ay Rata hO OR 
Barnes, MassiCorar TE ./ictrie as scke aimee 1907 Huntington, Richer Nass ate 1905 
iseebes Vins. Si cArthure sel sare. - £907 ||; Jackson, Mrs. Jamesi.0 <0... . + «EGOS 
Eunebme Vissmilarkicta:s).4 0c 6 slOO7e4 Kidder, NathanieliDs 5...) .5..5. . 1905 
Bowman, Miss Sarah R............ TOO5) |sekalmer, Wallis Sharpeses sesso soe 1907 
Brewsters William ...3 0068s ees TOOK ay rence-ssamuels Conan ae see 1905 
iBndce, Mrs: Kdmund.. 222... .-2. = LOO Te vic Connell pMirs. So -Dr a a. . wasn OOS 
HES OS se AG Ls So oicarthn Uiiels [ekicttee 6" en shila ayer al 1906 | McGraw, Mrs. Thos. S.............1908 
BROOKS, EVEGeth Wie <.ciccen cc ssw oh WO\eye || WitrirdsloeilllS IUCibie ne cn wea oases 1906 
IBTOOLS ERS eRe cee ee pace rt ones 1907 | Morton, Miss Maiev hes oir a aceon ye EeEGOO 
brooks, Mrs. Shepard: .......0.5...- 1906 | North Carolina Audubon poet ba LOOK 
rowmanere |e Mull. oe Pao Siete steces 1905 | Osborne, Mrs. Eliza W.. LOCO 
CarmiGen julientiS.c 54.0 accents LOOT 4 |eeeeulm era Witaaa |faeterc< 0s aencecucka stesso ots 1906 
Chapman; Clarence Wiis... 5.5 sev: 1908 Pearson, Prof. T. Gilbert........... 1905 
Ghildsalolm WewiS=. (2% crc eke Se LOOG mp ontlips-< Misi Ir @c cain ob lrcagae as 1905 
Clyde, W. P.. jos aon Os || elarillhinss Wiclaislk Co Gee escetnty tere micicha.c 1905 
Coolidge, T. Jefferson 3rd. Re cece LOO7 ee Lickman MrssiDudley Tere «2s sei: 1907 
Crosby, WE RUEILIS. oie gc. dane canes OVO a||, LeWerarejoxoumss Mucha |fg ee Seis Nees oc 1905 
anewCanlos YeseOltevent... 2 Loom. |e bierrepont, Jjohnj-.4..-4 24>... 11005 
Earle, Miss Eleanor Poitevent....... 1905 | Pinchot, Mrs. James Wier ene eee 1906 
Asta GeO aM. «cyale Malelele 5 areleneese ces 1906 | Potts, Thos PNA PRA OS ae SORE Rs aaah 6 1g05 
HiccareDamleleme ce pf. data. so suc es TOCH || ueeed, eMirs AW male ELOWwellicmie sro acieas< 1905 
Emmons, Mrs. R. W., 2nd.......... LOS He sage. MinsssRUSSelia= nro war Wonton re 1905 
yp RPLOT AU NVALGs:.)5 ihc aise @),0 Versys tle TONS | Seuiiedlas, Nibese lelerloed Ile 5he aces ac 1906 
aot, Mirjiames Dri a2 seoc - jes IQ07 Shattuck, Mrs: F..C.. Tee re MOL) 
*Frothingham, Howard P........... 1905 | Stokes, Miss Caroline Phelps erate 1908 
(CME aS TESS | a ee ae Oe OS A Pe 1908 Thompson, Mrs. Frederick F........ 1908 
Caz campy inswAntOIMeLte ee... c.1 - 1 LOOSm | luttis; lueomands: sas). 2 21 ee 1907 
Ciitord Mis Robert Tass. te. = rT9S8 | Vian) Names Willard Go02-) 432-5 - =. 1905 
inavemever, Nirs. EL. OF |r. 2.2 .-'.- 1OloVy/- A Webbe (CCordxer ites eancoageebnas oe 1905 
Hemenway, Mrs. Augustus.......... TOO | a CD Ster elie) Creamer ret enna re LOOG 
FOtmManisy Saree. aalcvevs 2 -eiere 1. HOOT || sWiharton, aWime lens 25.0) a nels csi eye 1907 
Hostetter, sien bert. aii sae 1907 | Woodward, Mrs. Geo.............. 1908 
*Deceased 


ANNUAL MEMBERS AND CONTRIBUTORS FOR 1908 


Abbott Clinton G... $5 oo 
Abbott, Gordon.... 5 
Abbott, Mrs. L. L.. 5 
Abrahams,MissE.R. 5 00 | Allen, C. L.. 
Wehelis,sEmtz, a. 10. Hh X00. 

mcklen, Coln|ieels: «5 

Adams, Emily B... 10 

Agassiz, Maximilian. 5 
Agassiz, Ro Lis. w- 5 
Aiken, John A..... 5 
Aldrich, Spencer.... 5 
sAWesernacoleres Tel, 1838 cae 5) ele) 
Allen. Mrs. A. V.G. 5 
Allen, Charles A 5 


farried forw’d...$75 oo 


Brought forw’d. . 
oo | Allen County Audu- 
00 bon Society (Ind. ¥ 5 00 | 


Allen, James ‘Lane. 

fefe) Allen, Miss M.C... 
oo | Alms, Eleanor C... 
oo | Amend, Bernard G. 
oo | Ames, Miss Mary S. 
oo | Ames, Mrs. Wm. H. 
oo | Anderson, Mrs. J. C. 
Andrews, Mrs. H. E. 
oo | Andrews, Mrs. W.L_ 5 00 
oo | Anthony, Mrs. S. R. 10 00 | 


Carried forw’d ..$140 oo 


. $75 00 Brought forw’d..$140 oo 
| Archbold, John D.. 

| Armin, Albertina von 
5 00 | Atkins, Mrs. E. F.. 

5 oo | Attwater, Charles B. 
5 oo | Auchincloss, John W. 
5 oo | Austin, Francis B... 
5 oo | Avery. Samuel P.... 
5 00 | Bacon, Mrs. F. E... 
5 

5 

5 


a 


AUnMWMOoOnnunninm«n 
fe) 
° 


oo | Bacon, Miss M. P.. 
oo | Badger, Arthur C... 
60) (Bahr Dir Pa Else « 
Bailey, George, Jr.. 10 00 
Baird, Miss Lucy H. 15 00 


Carried forw’d ..$225 oo 


320 


Bird - Lore 


ANNUAL MEMBERS AND CONTRIBUTORS, continued 


Brought forw’d. .$225 
Baker, George L... 5 
Baker, L. D., Jr.... 
Baker, Mrs. Wm. E 
Ball, Mrs. H. A.... 
Balph, Mrs. J. M... 
Bangs, Dr. L. B.... 
Banks, Miss M. B.. 
Barhydt, MissC.... 3 
Barhydt, Mrs. P. H. 
Barnes, Mrs. H.S.. 
Barnes, Herbert S.. 
Barnes, J. Sanford, 


maMuanonrurnininin 


Barnum, Mrs. W. M 
- Barron, George D.. 
Barrows, Mrs. M... 
Bartlett, Mrs. C. T. 
Batten George..... 
SBiCash? ME ia a IO 
Beach, Mrs. H. H. A 
Beckley, Mrs. J. N. 
Beckwith, ivirs. Dee 
Beech, Mrs. H...... 
Behr, Edward A.... 
Bell, Mrs. Gordon. . 
Benedict, T.H..... ; 
Benkard, Harry H.. 
Benn, Miss Abby E. 
Benn, George W... 
Bent, Arthur C.... 
Bertschmann, Jacob 
Beven, L. A.. 
Bickmore, Prof. A. S 5 
Bigelow, Mrs. Pres- 


AMaAnnininninnninioim un 


amnion 


Bigelow, Dr. Wm. S 10 
Bill, Nathan D..... 
Billings, Miss E.... 
Binney, Edwin.... 
Birds Amma Ga ae 
Bird, CharlesS..... 
Birdsall, Mrs. W. R. 
Bishop, Dr. Louis B. 
Bissell, Mrs. E. J... 
Black, Mrs. JereS.. 
Black, Robert C.... 
Blair, Mrs. D.C.... 
Blair, C. Ledyard... 
Blakely, Walter J... 
Bliss, Walter Phelps. 
Bliss, Mrs. Wm. H 
Blue, Mrs. ©. E.... 
Blunt, Miss Eliza S.. 
Bogert Wes] ees 
Bolles, Miss D. F... 
Bolling, Stanhope. . 
Bond-Foote, Miss 
Miarny. Aboot 5 
Bonner; Mrs. PaulR. 5 
Borden, Miss E. L.. tro 


to 
AAMnManAnNanAnninnnnnimnoqanuwuin 


Carried forw’d . . $660 


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tole) 
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[oye) 
[oxe) 
[oxe) 
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[oxe) 
(exe) 
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(exe) 
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lofe) 
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Brought forw’d..$660 oo 
Borg, Mrs. Sidney C. 5 00 
Borland, Wm. G... 5 oo 
Bowdish, B.S...... 5 00 
Bowditch, Miss C... 10 00 
Bowditch, James H. 5 00 
Bowlker, T. J...... 5 00 
Boyle, Edward J... 5 00 
Bradford, Mrs.G,G_ 5 00 
Bradley, Miss A. A. 5 00 
Bradley, A. C...... 5 00 
Bradley, Edward R. 5 oo 
Bradley, Miss Leslie 5 00 
Bradley, Mrs. R.. 5 00 
Bragdon, J. W.. 5 00 
Brandreth, Courtney 6 00 
Brazier, Mrs. J. H.. 5 00 
Breck, Dr. Edward. 5 00 
Brennecke, George. 5 00 
Brewer, A.R....... 5 00 
Brewster, C. E..... 5 00 
Brimley, H. H..... 5 00 
Bristol, John I. D.. 5 a0 
Brooks, F. M...... 5 00 
Brooks, Mrs. PeterC. 5 00 
Brown, Charles E... 5 00 
Brown, David S.... 5 00 
Brown, Edwin H... 5 00 
Brown, Elisha R....- 5 00 
Brown, Hon, Elon R. 5 oo 
Brown, Frank A... 5 00 
Brown, Harry W.... 5 oo 
Brown, Dr. Lawra- 

son. 5 00 
Brown, Ronald K.. 5 00 
Brown, Samuel N.. 5 00 
Brownell, C. R..... 5 00 
Browning, W. H.... 5 00 
Browse, Robert T... 5 oo 
Bulkley, Mrs. E. M. 5 00 
Bullard, E. P....... 5 00 
Bumpus, Dr. H..C.. 5 00 
Burgess, John K.... 5 00 
Burke, Joseph F.... 5 00 
Burnett, John T.... .5 00 
Burnham, Mrs. 

George, Jr....... 5 00 
Burnham, Mrs. J. A 5 oo 
Burnham, William. 5 oo 
Burr, Mrs. I. T.... 5 00 
Bush, Mrs. Emma 

F. (In memoriam) 10 00 
Butler, Mrs. Paul... 10 oo 
Butler, Miss V...... 5 00 
Bye, Mrs. C. F..... 5 00 
Cabaniss, Winship.. 5 00 
Cabot, George E.... 5 00 
Cabot, Mrs. H. B... 5 oo 
Cabot, Louis...... 5 00 
Cabot, Mrs. W.C... 6 00 
Callaway, W.T..... 5 oo 


Carried forw’d . . $962 


oOo 


Brought forw’d. .$962 oo 
Cammann, Miss 

Kate; Li... 32.5 SSeromoo: 
Cameron, H. S.255) syHoe 
Campbell, Helen G. 5 00 
Campbell, Mrs.T.B 5 oo 
Carey, Mrs. S. Wes agmoa 
Carhart, Paul W.... 5 00 
Carnegie, Fe Mls sao 
@arpenter, C. le. 2 sce 
Carson, Robert D... 5 oo 
Carter, John 2). asus 
Carter. S. T., Jr.... 5 00 
Cary, Wm. Avery... 5 00 
Case, Miss L. W.. 5 00 
Cashin. mala ae 5 00 
Chadbourne, Dr. 

Arthurs 5 00 
Chafee, Mrs. Z..... 5 00 
Chamberlain, L.T.. 5 oo 
Chamberlin, Mrs. E. 

I LP 5 00 
Chamberlin, Gung 5 00 
Channing, Mrs. W.. 5 00 
Chapman, Mrs. E.W_ 5 00 
Chapman, F. M.... 18 oo 
Chapman, H. E.... 5 oo 
Chase, Alice B...... 5 00 
Chase, Sidney...... 5 00 
Chase, Mrs. T...... 5 00 
Cingewer, We 1D. .5 2 5 00 
Cheney, Mrs. Arthur 5 oo 
Cheney, Louis R.... 5 00 
Christian, Miss E... 7 oo 
Christian, Susan.... 7 00 
Christy, Bayard H.. 5 oo 
Chulbbs)S5 Hey ee 5 00 
Chubbuck, Isaac Y. 5 oo 
Church, Fred C. Jr., 5 00 
Clapp, Mrs. Ernest 5 oo 
Clapp, Helen...... 5 00 
Clapp, Miss Martha. 5 oo 
Clark; Miss Anna B. 5 00 
Clark, Emily L..... 6 00 
Clark; LAs. eee 5 00 
Clark, Mrs. John T. 5 00 
Clark, Miss S. E.... 6 00° 
Clarke, Miss H.E... 5 00 
Clarkson, Mrs. T.S. 5 00 
Clemens, Miss J. L.. ro 00 
Clemens, Samuel L.. 5 00 
Clemson, George N. 5 00 
Clinch, Howard T.. 5 00 
Clinch, Judge E.S.. 5 00 
Coates, Sarah H.... 5 00 
Codman, Miss C. A. 5 oo 
Coffin, George S.... 5 00 
Colgate, R. R...... IO 00 
Collamore, Miss H.. 5 00 
Collier, P. F........ 5 00 
Collins, Miss Ellen.. 15 00 

Carried forw’d, $1,291 00 


List of Members 


321 


ANNUAL MEMBERS AND CONTRIBUTORS, continued 


Brought forw’d, $1,291 
Collins, Miss G..... 5 
Collins, Miss M..... 5 
Collord, George W.. 5 
Comfort, Miss Annie 5 
Comfort, Miss A. E. 5 
Concord, Mass. 

5 


Woman’s Club... 
Connecticut Audu- 

bony Society: 3)... 25 
Converse, Mrs.C.C. 5 
Coolidge ie Re...) 5 


Coolidge, John T... 5 
Coolidce Ie. Ir.- 


Cooper, Howard M. 5 
Wopew Alban. =. 5 
Copewh. KR. lire... 5 


Corlies, Miss M.L.. 5 


Corning, Miss M.I.. 50 
Cowles, W.H...... II 
Cox, Mrs. James S.. 5 
Goxmuliohna Loss... 5 
Cramer, Mrs. Am- 
PIEOS@sApana/s ots chest 5 
Crane, Miss Clara L. 20 
@rehore; FE. M...... 5 
Crocker; Wise ies... 1 


fe) 
Cromwell, J.W..... 5 
Crosby, Mrs. E. H.. 5 
SrOsby on Mi wer 
Crosby, Mrs.S.V.R. 5 
Cummins, AnneM.. 5 
Cummins, Miss E.I. 5 
Cunningham,G.H.. 5 
Curran, Henry H... 5 
Curtis, Mrs.C. B... 5 
Curtis; Mis: ESAs. 5 
Curtis, The Misses. 15 
Curtiss, Miss Sophia 5 
Gutitm RE - 
Dana, Miss Ada.... 
Dana, Miss E. A.... 
Dane, Mrs. A. L.... 
Daveis, Edward H.. 
Davenport, Mrs.E.B. 
Davase Coble, sets eer 
Davis, Mrs. W.R... 
Davis, W. R., (in 
memoriam)...... 
Day, Mrs. A. M.... 
Day, Miss K.S..... 
Day, MissM.F.... 
Dean, Chalres A.... 
Deane, Ruthven.... 
Deats, Mrs. E.S.... 
DeCoppet,\E. Je... 
de Forest, H. W.... 
iDesener piBo. 2 ci: I 
Detroit Bird Protec- 
tive, Clube< ono. 5 
Dewey, Dr. C. A.... 15 


MAMmnaAnnw uu 


OMNI nnn 


[ofe) 
[oye) 
fofe) 
[ete 
[ofe) 
[ofe) 


[ote] 


[oye) 
[ofe) 


feJo) 


Carried forw’d, $1,685 


oo 


Brought forw’d, $1,685 oo 
Dexter, George.... I0 00 
Dietz Mirss CIN... G5 l0o 
Dimock, George E.. 5 00 
Dod, Miss H. M.... 5 00 
Dodges "Gs Hie. 44: 5° 00 
Dodge, D. Stuart... 5 oo 
Dodge, Miss G. H.. 5 00 
Dommerich, L. F... 5 00 
Dommick,Mrs.M.W. 5 00 
Dorrance, Miss A... 5 00 
Dorrance, Benjamin 5 0o 
Doubleday, F. N... 5 00 
Doughty, Mrs. Alla. 5 oo 
Doylestown Nature 
(C)b) OR aera enon enter 00 
Drake Edward, E... fofe) 
Draper, George A... foto) 
Drew,Miss Emma E. fofe) 
Drew, Henry J. W.. 00 


Drude, Miss L. F... 


[ote) 


Drummond, Miss E. 10 oo 
Drummond, Miss M. foe) 
Duane, James May. 00 
DuBois, Dr. M. B... fofe) 
Duncan, A. Butler. . fefo) 


Dunham, Arthur L.. 1 
Dunham, E. K..... 
Duryee, Miss A. B.. 
Duryee, G. V. W.... 
Dutcher, Mrs. C. O 
Dutcher, Miss Mary 
Dutcher, William... 
Dwight, Dr. J., Jr... 
Dyer, Edward T.... 
Dyke Arthur Con): 
Eaton, E. Howard. . 
Eaton, Howard.... 
Eaton, Miss Mary S. 


OMAMNBWUMNnNINIrNInAnNouUMnnin Oounnnanin 


[efe) 
[ofe) 
[oye) 
oo 
foye) 
[ofe) 
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[ofe) 
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[ofe) 
[ofe) 
[ofe) 


Eddy, Miss S. J..... 10 00 
Bidoanse MD its ects kes: 5 00 
Elliot, Mrs. J. W.... 5 00 
Ells, George P:..... IO 00 
ly, ommlthly ) sy chays i 5 00 
Embury, Miss E. C. 5 oo 
Emerson, L. P...... 5 00 
Emery, Miss G..... 25 00 


Emery, Miss G. H.. 5 00 
Emery, Mrs J... 2500 
Emmons, Mrs. R.W., 

and.. 5 00 
Enders, John neue 5 00 
Eno, Dr. Henry Co 25 00 
Estabrook, Tee digs Siw CIS) 
Eustis, The Misses. 5 00 
Evans, Mrs. R.D... 5 00 
Fackler, David P... 5 00 
Fairbanks, Mrs. 

Emma C.. i 200 
Fairchild, B. Cie IO 00 
Fairchild, Samuel W 5 00 


Carried forw’d, $2,100 oo 


Forbush, Edward H. 
Foster, Henry H.... 
Foster, Macomb G.. 


Lb: 
Freeman, Miss H. E. 
Freeman, Mrs. J. G. 
Freer, Charles Be 

French, Miss C. Bt 
French, Miss E. A.. 
Freudenstein, W. L. 
Frick, Dr. De.) 2 
Hrissell VAG Sains 
Gannett, Lewis S... 
Garrett, Miss E. W.. 
Gavitt) Wane s!. 0.5. 


Brought forw’d,$2,100 oo 
Farnam, Henry W.. 5 00 
Barcel eal Ceuta. 5 00 
Farwell, Mrs.J.V.,Jr. 5 00 
Faulkner,Miss F.M. 5 00 
Baya Os Boe mercer: 5 00 
INEio WWhrsadel lela | Sh tele 
Benno, in Cartret.... 500 
Hessendens) 1: Gwen 50 
Field, E. Bees 5 00 
Finley, Wibe e ene 5 00 
Finney, Mrs. J. M.. 5 oo 
IS wAC IR see cnt. 5 00 
Fisher, Miss E. W 5 00 
Bishi EP oa: (ele) 
Fiske, Mrs. Harry G 00 
Flower, A. Ro... :.. fofe) 
Fogg, Miss G. M... 00 
Holletts ReVEe. a2. - foe) 
Forbes, Alexander. . 


OMMNnNanAnnnn od 
ie} 
12) 


Hox, Charles sK. 3.2 10700 
Nox sElenry,.nieis. ae 00 
Freeman, Miss C. (ole) 


to 


AnNMNMInAnunnnnnnin 
fe) 
1@) 


Gazzam, Mrs. A. E.100 00 
Geer, Mrs. Walter.. 10 oo 
Gelpike, Miss A. C.. 10 00 
Gerdizen) Gy AS ta 6500 
Gifford, Dr. H...... 5 00 
Gillett lacy Dea. 5) 09 
Gillingham,Mrs.T.E. 5 00 
Glessner, Mrs. J. J... 5 00 
Goddard GyA.7. 500 
Godeffroy,Mrs.E.H. 5 oo 
Goin, James D..... 5 00 
Goodrich; Cle)... 5,00 
Goodrich, Miss J. T. 5 00 
Goodwin, Mrs. H.M_ 5 00 
Graham, Miss M.D. 5 00 
Gray, Miss Emily.. 5 00 
Gray, Miss Isa E... 5 00 
Gray, Mrs. Morris.. 5 oo 
Gray, Roland...... 5 00 
GreenewGa sis oo 
Greene, Miss M.... 5 00 
| Greene, Miss M.A.. 5 00 
| Greenfield Audu- 

bon Society. ..... 13 00 
Carried forw’d, $2,533 oo 


322 


Bird - Lore 


ANNUAL MEMBERS AND CONTRIBUTORS, continued 


Brought forw’d, $2,533 
Grew, Mrs. E. W... te 
Grew; Mis HaS:2_ 5 ro 
Griffin, Mrs. S. B... 
Guillaudeu, Emile. . 
Hadden, Dr. A..... 
Hadley, Mrs. A. P... 
Hagar, Eugene B... 
Haines, Miss J. R... 
Haines, Reuben.... 1 
HalesRevaEs Base. 
Hall, Alfred B...... 
Hamill, Eleanor C.. 
Hamilton, Miss E. S. 
Hardie, William T.. 
Hardon, Mrs. H. W. 
Hardy, Mrs. R..... 
Harper, Francis.... 
Harral, Mrs. Ellen B 
Harriman, Miss M.. 
Harris, Mrs. J. C... 
Harrison, Mrs. P... 
Harroun, Mrs. A. F. 
Hartline, D.S...... 
Hartness, Mrs. J.... 
Haskell, Miss H. P.. 
lekgele lO |firjges eae 
Hatch, Lyle Payson. 
Hathaway, H. B.... 
Havemeyer, John C. 
Haynes, Henry W... 
Haynes, Miss Louise 

de sHorest-a 0. 


AMMAN nAnAnnninininnninnninmnnn OMmuUn un 1 


SOERLUCI Wye a cule oe 
Heaton, Mrs. R.C.. 5 
Hecker, -Pranks\-. 29) 95 
Hemenway, A...... I0o 
Hemenway, Mrs. A..100 
Henbach, Jennie... 5 
Hendrickson, W. F 
Henshaw, H. W.... 


5 
. 5 
Herrick, Harold.... 10 
Herrmann, Mrs. E.. 5 
Hicks, Mrs: B.D.22 5 
Higginson, Miss 
Elizabeth Boo. 2b a5 
Higginson, Mrs. 
lslentiny Wess ce odee 
Higginson, J.J..... 5 
Hill, William H..... 5 
Bilis} Mrs, 5 Ae yen OS 
Hittinger, Jacob.... 5 
Hoague, Theodore... 5 
Hodge) Cabin 5 
Hodgman, Mrs. 
Walia ese 5 
loc. Wire Ro Ming) ste 
Hoffman, 'C. A, i. 0.35 
Hoge, Miss Florence 5 
Holden Beh see Io 


Carried forw’d, $3,023 


foto) 


fofe) 
[ote] 


| 


00 | 
OO | 


[ote) 
[ofe) 
[ofe) 
lofe) 
[ofe) 
(ote) 
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[ofe) 
[ete 
[ofo) 
[ofe) 
[ofe) 
[ofe) 
[ofe) 
[ofe) 
[ote) 
[ofe) 


Brought se $3,023 fete) 
Holbrook, Mrs. 5 00 
Holdren, ™M. E 5 00 

fore) a Hollingsworth, Mrs. 

George soeiets meee 5 00 
Holt, Mrs. B. S.. 5 00 
Holt, Mrs. Henry... 5 00 
Hopkins, Miss ree Se, OO 
Hoppin, Mrs. Sarah 

CeWis st Sacee ae 5 00 
Hornblower, Henry. 5 00 
Hornbrooke, Mrs. 

Bran cesmi= see 5 00 
Horr, Charles W.... 5 00 
Houghton, C. S.. 5 00 
Howe, Mrs. A...... 5 900 
Howe, Carlton D.. 5 00 
Howe, Miss Edith. . 5 00 
Howe, IMGs \eSscon | 3 Co 

| Howe, Miss Louise. 5 00 
Howe, Miss Lucien. 5 oo 
Howells, Frank S... 5 00 
Howland, Emily.... 10 oo 
Howland, Isabel.... rt0 00 
Hoyt, Walter S..... 5 00 
Hubbard, Miss A. W_ 5 00 
Ell Miss A. Gs0..-5) <J5 Co 
Humphreys, Mrs. 

Haroldminc 22300 5 00 
Hunnewell, Tales 20 00 


Hunt, Dr. Emily Camo 
Hussey, William H.. 5 
Huyler, Washington 

Cc 


inti dle eIVisS “3H; sie, Saas 
Ingraham, E. D.... 6 
Inslee, Mrs.Samuel. 5 
Iselin, Mrs...We Bo) 5 
Issendorf, G. N..... 5 
issem hut hy Be i seers 
Jackson, Miss M. C. 25 
Jamaica Plain Tues- 

dayaGlubpeer sce. 
Jamison, Charles A. 
Jamison, M. A..... 
abyniess CAR eas 
Jenckes, John...... 
Jenkins, George W.. 
Jenks, Miss C. E.... 
Jenks, Mrs. W. H... 
Jennings, Dr. G. H.. 
Johnson, Mrs. F. S.. 
Johnson, W. H..... 
Jones, Boyd B...... 
Johnston, R. W..... 
Jones, Charles H.... 
Jones, Mrs. C. H.... 
Jones, Esther....... 
fiones;: liao Cre 
Jordon, Miss C. M.. 
Joslyn, Mrs. S. H... 


AMnMAnnnnnninnnninnnnnn 


Carried forw’d, $3,340 


[ofe) 
(ote) 


foto) 
[ofe) 
[ofe) 
[ofe) 
oOo 
[ole] 
[ofe) 
co 


[ofe) 
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[ofe) 
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Lote) 
fete) 
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[ole) 


Brodauerormae $3,340 co 
Kahn, OttoH. ... 5 00 
Kempster, James... 5 00 
Kendall, Miss G.... 5 oo 
Kennard, F. H..... tele) 
Kennedy, Mrs. J.S.. 30 oo 
Kent, Edward G.... 5 oo 
Kerr, Mrs...J_ iC. 242 nomoo 
Kerr, Miss Lois.... 5 00 
Kessler, Miss J. D.. 5 00 
INGyeG Is Ssss5c0 - 5 00 
Kilbourne, F. W.... 2 00 
King, Elizabeth.... 5 oo 
King, Miss L. B.... 5 co 
King, ME Ke a anen 5 00 
Kinney, Florence E. 5 oo 
Kotte Mirs ss Vie 5 00 
Kittredge, S. D..... 5 00 
Kopman, H. H..... 5 00 
Kunhardt, W. B.... 5 oo 
Kuser, Anthony R.. 5 oo 
Kuser, Mrs. A. R... 5 00 
Kuser, John D..... 5 00 
Kyle, William S..... 5 oo 
Lacey, Milton S.... 5 oo 
LaFarge, Mrs. C. G. 5 00 
Lagowitz, Miss H.L 5 oo 
Lancashire, Sarah H_ 5 oo 
Lang, Charles...... 5 00 
Langdon, W.G..... 5 oo 
Langeloth, Jacob... 5 oo 
Langmann, Dr. G.. 5 00 
Lawrence, John B.. 5 oo 

| Lawrence, R. B-.... 10 00 
Mawrencey te seer 5 oo 
bee; Frederic S-.5 Seca 
LeGendre. W.C.... 5 00 
Leigh, B. Watkins.. 5 00 
Leman, J. Howard. 5 oo 
Lemmon, Miss Isa- 

bella McC....... 5 00 
Lester, Mrs. J. W... 6 00 
Letchworth, Josiah. 5 oo 
Letchworth, W. P.. 5 oo 
Leverett, George V... 5 oo 
Lichtenauer, Miss 

AliceiG.s hie aes 5 00 
Lincoln, Alexander.. 5 oo 
Livingston, Miss A.. 5 00 
Livingston, G...... 5 00 
odee simiberes rs 5 00 
Loeb, Morris......- 5 00 
Logue, Mrs. Ida L. 5 00 
Loines, Mrs. M.H.. 5 00 
Long, Harry V...... 5 oo 
Longfellow, Miss 

Ali ces Mere eo ater 5 00 
ord; Missi@: ae ere 5 00 
Loring, Mrs. Ather- 

LOM cio oe ork chee 5 00 
Loring, The Misses. 5 oo 

Carried forw’d, $3,653 oo 


List of Members 


ANNUAL MEMBERS AND CONTRIBUTORS, continued 


Brought forw’d, $3,653 
Loring, Mrs. W.C.. 5 
Low, Hon. Seth.. 5 
Lowell, Miss C. R.. 5 
Lowell, James A.. 5 
Lowell, Miss Lucy. 5 


Lowndes, Vamesce o- 8 5 
Lowry, Mrs. A.L...° 5 
Loyd, MissS.A.C.. 5 
eucas; Fred. Ay... ro 
Luce, Matthew..... 5 
Lundy, MissE.L... 5 
Lydig, David...... 5 
Pyle; Jorn S..... v.. 5 
inyiman,: WWenry...32.- 15 


McEwen, 2D: C:..:. 
McGowan,Mrs. J. E 10 
McHatton; Dro: . 5 


00 | 


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McIntire, Mrs.H, B. 5 00 
McKee, Mrs. W.L.. 5 00 
McKittrick,T.H., Jr. 10 -oo 
McKittrick, Mrs. 

Mibos. Else. sete. 2 5 00 
McDougall, G. R... 5 00 
Miacy,, V. Everit: ... ~5 oo 
Macy, Mrs. V...\... 500 
Madden, Miss A. T. 5 00 
Mager, F. Robert... 5 00 
Maghee, John H.... 5 00 
Maitland, Robert L. 5 00 
Malcom, Mrs. A.... 5 00 
Markham, Miss 

biamGes} Gee ets, 5 00 
Markham, G. D.... 5 00 
Markoe, Mrs. John. oo 
Marling, A. B...... 5 00 
Marrs, Mrs. Kings- 

zee Lae FARR Sg Sars oom fete) 

fete) 


Marshall, Chas. C... 
Martin, Miss C. M.. 1 
Martin, Mrs. E..... 
Martin, Mrs. J. W.. 5 
Maryland Branch of 
the National Au- 
dubon Society... . 
Mason, Mrs. E. F... 
Mason, Miss F. P... 
Mason, Geo. Grant. 
Mastick, Mrs. S.C... 
Matheson, W. J..... 
Mauran, Mrs. J. L.. 
Mayo, Miss A. L.... 
Mead, Larkin G.... 
Meigs, Mrs. T. B... 
Meloy, Andrew D... 
Meredith, Mrs. W. T. 
Merrill, Miss F. E... 
Merriman, Mrs. D.. 
Merriman, che 
MISSES etem nice. eet 5 


5 
Marsh, Miss Ruth.. 5 
5 
° 


Oona 1 OT tT 


tole) 


Carried forw’d, $3,948 


Lele) 


| Morse, Miss F. R... 
| Morse, Mrs. J. T., Jr. 


Brought forw’d, $3,948 
Merritt, Mrs. D. F.. 5 
Mernmtt;Geo-P a. tay 5 
Metcalf, M. B...... 5 
Metcaliyss Offa: 5 
Meyer, Miss H..... 5 
Middlesex Women’s 


Club (Mass.).... 
Miles, Henry A..... 
Miles, Flora A...... 
Miller. Mrs. E.S.... 
Miller, Frank M.... 
Miller, Mrs. R. F... 
Miller, Roswell..... 
Mills, Enos A...... 
Mitchell, Mrs M. B. 
Mitchell, Miss Mary. 
Montgomery, M. A.. 
Moon Eta biter. 
Moore, C. de R..... 
Morgan, Albert.... 
Morris, Miss C. W.. 
Morris, Robert O... 


Motley, E. Preble. . 
Mott AL Wisse aene 
Mott, Jordan L., Jr.. 
Mumford, Mrs. T. J. 
Munroe, Miss M. H. 
New Century Club 
of Utica.. - 
Nichols, J. W.T 
Nicholson, Rebecca 
BGS SATAN «sree err 
Norcross, G. H.. 
North Carolina Au- 
dubon Society. . 
iNonton:, (Gerlsscfe)- 2 ie 
Nott. Wirs= He pAs +9: 
Noyes, Mrs. H. A... 
@ecttinger, Ps Je --e 
Oldberg, Mrs. O.... 
Opdycke, Mrs. E... 
Opdycke, L. E.5.3.- 
7 Ormond ee ayy, 0 
Osborn Hob. e see 
Osborn, Mrs. W.C.. 1 
Osborn, Wm. R.... 
Ostrom, Mrs. H. I.. 
Otis, Charles R.. 
Outerbridge, A. J... 
Owen, Mrs. M. L... 
Paddock, Royce.... 
Paine, Miss E. L.... 
Raine Robert Peer - 
Paine, Miss R. T. 


un 0 OAMnIWnInnnwnnon an & O11 Ot ot nt on nt 


on 


200 


OMmMmnTInn OM oUMnnnnnon 


H 


Palmer, Miss C. H.. 
Palmer, Miss D..... 
Palmer, Edgar... .. 


Carried forw’d, $4,647 


fete) 
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323 

Brought forw’d,$4,647 oo 
Palmer, Miss Elsie.. 5 00 
Palmer, Miss L.S... 5 00 
Raliner Drie Sas. bg 5 nOO 
Palmer, Miss M.... 5 00 
Parke, ‘Louis: H..;..* “5.00 
Parker, Edward L...100 00 
Patten, Mrs. W.S... 5 00 
Patterson, W. F Beaty xe)S) 
Peabody, Mrs. A. P. 10 00 
Peabody, Geo. A.... 50 00 
Peabody, Mrs.O.W. 5 oo 
Pecks Miss bP); <2 5000 
PEGI SW cc lese tars) 5 i208 5 00 
Pell, Mary: Bio )23 5 00 
Pell, Wish e est 5 00 
Perkins, Miss E.G.. 5 00 
Peterssiis Sane are 5 00 
Piilipp;- bbs ee 5 55 00 
Phillips, Mrs. E..... 20 00 
Phillips, Mrs. Chas. 

BiET fs arcyes iat ae IO oO 
Phillips, Hon. J.M.. 5 00 
Phipps, Henry.. 5. 54100 
Pickering, Mrs. He 30 00 
Pickman, Mrs. D. L. 50 oo 
Pierce, oe Clay ket oo 
Pillsbury, A ,Jr.. 600 
Pinchot, ree Amos. 5 00 
Pitkin, Paniee aid 5 00 
Planten,, John R=... ~5)00 
Platt, Mrs. Charles. 10 oo 
Pomdexter.;G4 Ga e500 
Pollock, E. George.. 5 00 
Pond) Cali ge seers: 5 00 
Pope, Alexander.... 10 00 
PostsAbner ce. fice 5 00 
Post,pWans'S.se-cee. 5 00 
Potts; JessesWeasssoce 5200 
Potts, Miss S. B..... 5 00 
Pratt, Augustus.... 5 oo 
Pratt, (George DE. 15/00 
Price, John Ser- 

peant Jit: scene oe 5 00 
Principal Downer 

Schoolii(Gaz)/c4 ee. 2151.00 
Procter, Henry H... 5 00 
Prosser, Mrs..R:..2).. 5.00 
Enyer Chas. 29 5 00 
Vea T EE Dell [eed sega = 5 00 
Putnam, | Po W.. 2222 IO CO 
Pyle, Howard... 5 co 
Rathborme; RC. 2-5 -ss0o 
Reed, Sarah E...... 5 00 
Reading, Wm. V.... 5 00 
Rees, Norman I.... 5 00 
Reilly, John A...... 5 00 
Reinhold, Dr. A. J... 5 00 
Renwick, Edward S. 5 00 
Renwick, Ilka H.... 5 00 
Reynolds, Dorrance. 5 00 

Carried forw’d, $5,233 oo 


Rhoads, Mrs. Chas.. 5 


Scarborough, J.V.B 5 
Schott, Chas. 


324 


Bird - Lore 


ANNUAL MEMBERS AND CONTRIBUTORS, continued 
Brought forw’d, $5,548 oo 


Brought forw’d, $5,233 oo 


[ofe) 


Rhoads, J. Snowdon 5 oo 
Rhoads, Miss L. W.. 5 00 
Rhoads, Miss S. W.. 5 00 
Rice, Mrs. Ellen F.. 5 00 
Richards, Miss A. A. 5 00 
Richardson, H. H... 5 oo 
Richardson, 1D) ie 

Maurice H...... 5 00 
Richie, Miss Sarah.. 7 00 
Richmond, Walter.. 5 oo 
Richmond, Watts L. 5 00 
Ricketson, Walter.. 2 oo 
Ricketts, Miss Jean. 5 00 
Ripley ewoqllee ees Oo 
Rives, Dr. W. C.... 5 00 
Robbins, Reg. C.... 5 oo 
Robert, Samuel.... 5 00 
Roberts, Mrs. Chas. 5 oo 
Roberts, Miss E.C.. 5 oo 
Roberts, Miss F. A.. 5 00 
Roberts, Thos. S$.... 5 oo 
Robertson, Dr. A. R. 5 oo 
Robertson, Mrs. 

Fanny P.. IO 00 
Robey, Master A. A. 5 00 
Robinson, Miss A. H. 5 00 
Robinson, Arthur... 5 oo 
Robinson,Mrs. G. H 5 oo 
Robinson, J. A.. 5 00 
Robotham, (aE 5 00 
Rockefeller, John D., 

|figateentener ag aianetonias 5 00 
Rockefeller, Mrs. J. 

Des Sit ee eee 5 00 
Rodman, Alfred. 5 00 
Rodman, Miss E.. 5 00 
Rogers, Geo. tenets 5) 100 
Rogers, Mrs. L. S.. 5 00 
Roper, Rev. Y. Chas. 5 00 
Rothy jase). 5 00 
Rowley, John...... 5 00 
Ro ep Aen Eee einestn 5 00 
Rushmore, Mrs. T.L 5 co 
Russ, Mr. Edward.. 5 00 
Ryman, Seays 5 00 
Rynearson, Edward. 5 00 
Sage, John H...... 5 00 
Sage, Mrs.S.M..... 5 00 
Saltonstall, J. L..... 15 00 
Santord: “Avdwsttar in 5 00 
Sargent, Mrs. J. W.. 5 00 
Saunders, Miss M... Ir oo 
Saunders, W.E..... 5 00 
Sauter, Fred....... 5 00 
Savings of Carolaand 

her Brothers..... 25 00 
Sayre Rockwell.... 5 00 


M., Jr. 5 00 


Carried forw’d, $5,548 co 


Schieffelin, Mrs. 

Sarah M......... 
Schrader, G. H. F... 
Schramm, Arnold. . 
Schroeder, Arthur. . 
Schwab, Rey. L. H.. 
Scrymser, Mrs. M.C. 
Scrymser, James’A.. 
Seabrook, Mrs. H. H 
Seamans, C. W.. 2 
Seaman, Tt Wie 
Sears, Francis Beene 
Sears, George One 
Sears, Wm. R...... 


Seltzer eee 
Seligman, Isaac N... 
Seligman, J........ 
Seton, Ernest T..... 
Sewalll psa e eae 
Shannon, Thomas. . 
Sharpe, Miss E. D.. 
Shattuck, Geo. C... 
Shattuck, Miss G. A. 
Shaw, Mrs. 
(In memoriam of 
Sherburne M. 
Shaws en ne ieee 
Shaw, Francis...... 
Slaa wey OAC aise 
Shaw, Miss G.H.... 
Shaw, Mrs. R.G.... 
Sheldon, Mrs. H. K. 
Shepard, C. Sidney. 
Shepard, Emily B 
Shiras, George, 3rd. 
Shortall, Mrs. J. L.. 
Simmons, B. F..... 
Simmons, Geo. O... 
Sitgreaves, Miss M. J 
Skeel, Mrs. R. Jr... 
Skidmore, Samuel T. 
Slocum, Wm. H.... 
Smedley, W. L..... 
Smith, Miss A. W... 
Smith, Mrs. A. J.... 
Smith, Byron L..... 
Smith, Miss C. L.. 
Smith, Edward C... 
Smith, Miss E. C... 
Smith, Mrs. J N.. 
Smith, Laura I.. 
Smith, RED aie 
Smith, Theo. H..... 
Smith, Wilbur F.... 
Smith, Mrs. E. L.... 
Smyth, Ellison A.... 


C. W. 


Io 


AAnAAMAAAMnIaAinninnininomniunnmn un 


(ote) 


[ote 


Carried forw’d, $5,950 oo 


| Soren, Geo, Wales. . 
| Speer, Mrs. R.C.... 


| Sprague, Francis P.. 


(eS qiuites sy lela) yeas amas 


| Stratton, Chas. E.... 


Brought forw’d, $5,950 
Snyder, Watson..... 


Spofford, F. A...... 


Speyer, Mrs. James. 
Spofford, Paul N.... 
Spooner, Mary T.... 


Sprague, Mrs. Isaac. 
SPraya San ee cee 


Steinmetz, Frank J.. 
Sterhimios is Cee 
Stetson, F. L....... 
Stevens, Miss Mary. 
Stevenson, Miss A.B. 
Stevenson, Miss A. P. 
Stevenson, Miss F.G. 
Stewart, Mr. P. B... 
Stewart, Mrs. P. B.. 
Stillman, W. O..... 
Stilwell, Miss M. C.. 
Stone, Charles A.... 
Stone, Miss E. J.... 
Stone, Herbert F.... 
Srna, Me Wee. ss 


Leal 


AMAAMNMIMANAAAANANNNNnInNnnNOUMUnnnnMA dnd Unni dtuaan 


Strong Richard..... 
Strong, SelahB .... 
Sugden, Arthur W.. 
Swaseysulr ik eae 
Swezey, Mrs. J.T... 
Taber, Mrs.S.R.... 


, Cyrus A...... 
Tarbell, Miss K. A.. 
Maylow Beek eeae ae 
Thaw, Benj........ 
Thayer, EzraR..... 
Thayer, Mrs. G. A. 
Thayer, John E.....20 
Thayer, Mrs. J. E... 
hayes Has lies. 
Thayer, Mrs. N..... 
Thebaud, Paul G... 
Thomas, Miss B. H. 
Thomas, Mrs. L . 
Tinos, Mrs. T.. 
Thordnike, Albert... 
Thorne, Samuel. I 
Tingley, S. Hots. oe 
Tinkham, Julian R.. 
Dituss Eire ae eee 
Tolcott, James..... 
Torrey, Miss J M... 
Trainer, Chas. W... 
Trine, Ralph Waldo. 
Tuckerman, Alfred. 
Turner, Mrs. W. J. . 


to 


nAounmnnininnnnn Ow 


Io 


aAammninnwn 


Carried forw’d, $6,465 


lofe) 


590 


List of Members 


325 


ANNUAL MEMBERS AND CONTRIBUTORS, continued 


Brought forw’d, $6,465 50 
Tuttle, Albert H.... 50 
Tweedy, Edgar.... 50 
Twombly, JohnF... 5 00 
Tyson, Mrs. G 10 00 


Van Huyck, J.M... 5 


Van Name, W..G...100 00 
Van Orden, Miss 

IMT CN GS tun = = 5 00 
Vermilye, Mrs. W. 


Gepardys : wii sds- 5 
Vietor, Edward W.. 5 


Wadsworth, C.S.... 15 00 
Wadsworth, Mrs. W. 
Austin.. IO OO 


Wadsw orth, “Richard 
C. W. (In memor- 
iam) ° 

Waldo, Allan S..... 5 

Waldo, Chas. S.jyq- | 5 

Walker, MasterO... 5 

Wallace, Mrs.A.H.. 5 

Walsh, Frank J..... 5 

Walters, Frank..... 5 

Ward, MarcusL.... 5 

Ware, Horace E.... 5 

Warner, Mrs.G. M. 5 

Warner, Dr. H.5.... 5 

Warren, B. W.... 5 

Warren, MissC..... 25 

Warren, Mrs. E. W.. 5 

5 
5 


Warren, Samuel D.. role) 
Watson). j=...) = (ole) 
Watson, Miss J.S... 5 00 
Wead, MissC.E.... 5 00 
Webb, G.B.M.D.. 5 00 
Webster, Mrs. E.S.. 5 00 


Carried forw’d, $6,760 50 


MEMBERSHIP 
$5.00 


$100.00 
$1,000.00 


paid 
paid 
paid 
paid 
paid 


$5,000.00 
$25.000.00 


Brought forw’d, $6,760 
Webster, Edwin S... 
Websters; aca. - 
Weeks, Andrew G.. . 
Weeks, W. B.P..... 
Wehrhane, Chas.... 


Weld, Mrs. C.M.... 


| Weld, Stephen M. . 


Wells, Oliver J..... 
West, Charles C.... 
Westfeldt, G. R..... 
Weston, Helen...... 
Wetmore, Edmund. 5 
Wharton, Mrs. E.R. 5 
Wharton, Wm. P....500 
Wineelera|- Wien... 5 
Wheeler, S. H.. 5 
Wheelwright, Miss" 
MACs; beats 
Whippen, Sy Deere 
Whipple, Mrs. H. B. 
Whitcover. H. W.... 
White, Miss A. J.... 
White, Chas. T..... 
White, Miss E. C.... 
White, Horace...... 
White, Miss H. H... 
White, Dra JC... 
White, Mrs. L. E.... 
Whiting, Miss G.... 
Whiting, Mrs. K. B. 
Whitney, Miss Anne. 
Whitney, Milton B.. 
Winhitons-os (Gr. some 
Whittaker, Wm..... 
Widmann, Otto.... 


5 
5 
5 
5 
5 
5 
WeldaRev. Geowk. ae 5 
5 
5 
5 
5 
6 


On 


Lael 


AMMAN nanan Du 


On 


Carried forw’d, $7,438 


50 
[ole) 
fete) 
[ofe) 


oo | 


[oje) 
[ote] 
[ote] 
foJe) 
[ele] 
Lote) 
[ote] 
lote) 
[ote) 
[ofe) 
[ole] 
[ote] 
[ote] 


fole) 
tole) 
[ote] 
fete) 
[ole 
fete) 
Lolo) 
fole) 
[ofe} 
[ote] 
[ote] 
oo 
[ote] 
oo 
[ote) 
fofe) 
lof) 
fele) 


50 


Brought forw’d, $7,438 


Wilbour, Miss T.... oo 
WalcoxevI Eon ena: <a 5 5n:OO 
Wildman, A. D..... fete) 
Willever;sJi (\G2i2 5.00 100 
Williams, A. H.._.. fof) 


Williams, Blair S.... 
Williams, Mrs. I. T. 
Williams, Miss M. E. 
Wallis: airs: “Acwe.. .1. 
Wallst/@hasaieaccsty 
Wilson, Miss A. E... 


Amann tO nn 
(eo) 
fe) 


Wilson, Mr. C. H... fofe) 
WalsoniC. Wives tc feye) 
Wing cAsaiso fun. ct: fore) 
Winterbotham, J... (ote) 


Winson, Mrs. A..... 
Winzer, Emil Ji... 
Wroltt eo S: Missa. 
Wood, Walter...... 
Woods; Giver: as 
Woodcock, John.... 
Woods, Edward F.. . 
Woodman, Miss M.. 
Woodward, Lemuel 


AAAI TT 
fe) 
(e) 


Hox Vi) sr. Se eG} ele) 
Woolman, E. W.... 5 00 
Waray, Charles,Ps3-5, 5,09 
Wright, H. W....... 5 00 
Wright, Mis... 5 00 
Wright, Mrs. M.O.. 5 00 
Wright, Mrs. W..... 5 00 
Wyatt; WeirstsrsS3 ae. 5 00 
Woungen De Sact-sac aac 5 00 
Zabriskie, Mrs A.C. 5 00 
Zollikoffer, Mrs. 

Do Bit Sick ete eign Sse 5 00 

Total ear 25 $7,663 50 


IN THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION 


FORM OF BEQUEST 


annually constitutes a person a Sustaining Member. 
at one time constitutes a Life Membership. 
constitutes a person a Patron. 
constitutes a person a Founder. 
constitutes a person a Benefactor. 


I do hereby give and bequeath to THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF AUDUBON 
SOCIETIES FOR THE PROTECTION oF WiLp Birps AND ANIMALS, Incorporated, 


of the city of New York. 


326 Bird- Lore 


The Report of the Treasurer of the National Association 
of Audubon Societies 


BALANCE SHEET 


Exhibit “A” October 20, 1908 
ASSETS 
Cash in Farmers Loan and Trust Company................ $7,199 74 
Bumniturevand: Bixturess ie a keceus oteiers) Aten ke races ae Se 137 30 
Audwhon Boats: Cour). os... eee cntae ic eae ee 2,908 46 
Investments— ’ 
United States Mortgage and Trust Company Bonds...... $3,000 00 
Bonds and Mortgages on Manhattan Real Estate... ... 316,000 00 
Se HUGO OE 
Loan Account—South Carolina Society..................... 200 00 
Thowisiana:s SOGISiYy A ete iat ew a etched et ae ends eee cate 45 00 
SS 245 00 
Deficit for the year ended October 20, 1908, per Exhibit “B”.. 508 83 
Add—Deficit existing at October 20, 1qg07.. 5: -...- 1545 5-8 9,008 56 
memmrmara a ONE) ste 
Mo tals Sin Deal ee ora SNe as WEES eee ete $339,007 SQ 
LIABILITIES 
Endowment Fund— | 
Balance to credit of Fund October 20, 1907............$336,927 00 
Add—Received from Life Members during the year, 13 at $1oo 
EAC a Pies «Mion vats teteme Ciutat Rea etre Rohs toes SI men ee I,300 00 
Bstaterokujamess Werebartlett.c.. 9. some ene ele ee SeO 
IGESSs Ste teudRara te pea tet ea knee caine ant 2 475 00 


$338,702 00 
Bradley Fund— 


Wotalkcontributeditondatesns soe ees n ne ee ee I,g00 40 
Less‘amount invested, Taxes, repairs, ete...--..--2-.--...5- 1,594 51 
Seas PRATT, 305 89 
PES Baal pehcsn hate tah eae MR Ae See te TORE ne Ne $339,007 89 


INCOME AND EXPENSE ACCOUNT FOR YEAR ENDING OCTOBER 20, 1908 


Exhibit “B” 
INcoME— 
Menabers’ Dies iron Mirae eee eer i. eaeeenere es $4,871 00 
Contributions... cy. ok aa eee ee ea Rio 2,786 50 
interesternom) Imvestmentce-. eee eee 16,097 19 


Educational Leaflets—Sales................<;; 600 82 
$24,355 51 
ExPENSES— 


Warden Service and Reservations— 
SalaRieS Ys oc5 Ge cos. con te ies eee Me Ae ee $2,769 00 
Bxploration -12 5 Gc ee ene nae SE ee 377 02 
Tuaunch (Psepenses =r eee. Some ee eIen 313 56 

REESE ooh se She 


Expenses carried forwardi.t)..c.2 1 demon ds $3,459 58 24,355 51 


Report of the Treasurer 


327 


INCOME AND EXPENSE ACCOUNT FOR YEAR ENDING OCTOBER 20, 1908, continued 
income, brought forward. 7...4,/..4.....0% 


Parenere, brought forwatd.....-0..05002.os 0s eee 


Legislation— 


Ee 2, 455 Sha ols hee ee siewr'e bere ee is 
LAUT EIT SS Sat en EO ne 


Educational Effort— 


T. G. Pearson, salary and expenses 
E. H. Forbush, salary and expenses 
H. H. Kopman, salary and expenses........... 
WITS VLOOLE: SALARY. Mice s rere no 6 Cail ris ce eie s 
a AE EAIAtT oe no oe ae aed els os 
W. L. Finley, salary and expenses............. 
Curran & Mead, Press Information........... 
PAtes ARG COULINES 7.2 atarteale Dems tected ale 
SlidesrandeDrawintes, © .2 clas vio score tole» 
Mlectrossa0d: HAlf-fones. on 13 «,-lo2 ae Shee pee 
EES NORE TO MEMDES s ysis <sicisce «12 tate one 
Extra pages in Brrp-Lore 
ON TSE RAS Bt prot Rae A beat 
MEWSDADEI CIID DINGS: lire sii eis oo emia veut viate 
WANCAMON Al CANEES Ac ape tole -, 5 + 0 Peels io Fiat so 
CAM ENN Oyen Soy oie sad ee oie big hie Dee oN acl 


Southern O ffice— 


ER te ot Bic ip Ue rieeieic dig v0 ol AC woes Poeldiskbie #2 


Bradley Fund— 


Breer: DAIBON. DALARCE 705 i oo 0 de oc rAd ee sd. 2 


State Audubon Societies— 


ESO ETI ET Tiestin?, a eg As Se Ba SEE See en an ad 
1 TRO AS te gS On Ee lee ae pre qe a ae 
PREM RISEN Ne oo oebin en wins iin o b.sys dete: aie 
SOE O ATA. | Set EA tis oon ls ae vo, we 
Wastin tint ts Kage ete ete spe erect Sete Aisin: oe 
MATOS ACHISEULS Atay Bet oe pete ee sie 
LW CSTES GT] Ie eee, ae ae Se ee 
Princeswaward asiandese. 62. 7524 s2-2-Sbt oe 


General Expenses— 


SG RICERSALATIESS SOE ere ss ho nd Sino oe is os 
ESTA Mae A: (het NM PRD Dod ath esa as ¢, 25 > 
Telegraph and telephone... 


Office and storeroom rent 


DICUOSTAP UIC rWOLE nae atria oie. ok Sete a2 
Mig aSEEVIGES.o-. Nreient eerie va ie ee stein e 
REN CAGRES ANY GUINNESS cs = hones 3 v's epeieis 5 
BALCSS ANG CATIACE ae canta lors aoe SOR Aetna 
SRO D Ss 3 Sol ears sae He opt Sets oles 


Total expenses 


Balance—Deficit, ses Exhibit “A” 


ee ea? 


$1386 
150 


20 
0° 


$2,303 
1,999 
1,368 
360 


77 
89 
34 
oo 


5 00 


$24,355 57 
$3,459 58 


336 20 


I5 00 


1,036 03 


5,759 88 
———— Oe ae 


$508 83 


328 Bird - Lore 


LAWRENCE K. GIMSON, CERTIFIED PUBLIC ACCOUNTANT, 
82 Wall Street 


NEw York, October 24, 1908 
Doctors J. A. ALLEN, AND G. B. GRINNELL, 
Auditing Committee, 
National Association of Audubon Societies, 
141 Broadway, New York City. 

Dear Sirs:—In accordance with your instructions, I have made an exami- 
nation of the books and accounts of the National Association of Audubon Socie- 
ties for the year ending October 20, 1908, and present herewith the following 
Ehxibits:— 

Exuisit “A’’—BALANCE SHEET, OCTOBER 20, 1908. 
Exuisit ‘“B”—INCOME AND EXPENSE ACCOUNT FOR YEAR ENDED OCTOBER 
20, 1908. 

All disbursements have been verified with properly approved receipted vouch- 
ers and paid cheques; investment securities with safe Deposit Company have 
also been examined and found in order. Yours very truly, 

LAWRENCE K. Grimson, 


Certified Public Accountant. 
NEw York, October 27, 1908 


Wm. DutTcHER, President, 
141 Broadway, City. 

Dear Sir:—We have examined the report submitted by Lawrence K. Gim- 
son, Certified Public Accountant, of the accounts of the National Association 
of Audubon Societies, for the year ending October 20, 1908, which report shows 
balance sheet October 20, 1908, and income and expense account for the year 
ending on the same day, 

Vouchers and paid checks have been examined in connection with the dis- 
bursements, also securities in the Safe Deposit Company. 

We find the account correct. © Yours truly, 

J. A. ALLEN, 


GEORGE BIRD GRINNELL, 
Auditing Committee. 


Officers and Directors 329 


Officers and Directors of the National Association of Audubon 
Societies for the Year 1908 


OFFICERS 


President, WILLIAM DuTCHER, of New York. 

First Vice-President, THEO. S. PALMER, M.D., of District of Columbia 
Second Vice-President, Dr. JoEL A. ALLEN, of New York. 

Secretary, T. GILBERT PEARSON, of North Carolina. 

Treasurer, DR. JONATHAN Dwicut, JR., of New York. 

Attorney, SAMUEL T. CARTER, JR., of New York. 


DIRECTORS 


Class of 1909 


Mr. W. Scott Way, California Mr. R. W. WILLIAMs, Jr., Florida 
Me. WittiAM DutTcHER, New York Wma. HuBBELL FISHER, Ohio 
Mr. RALPH HOFFMANN, Massachusetts 


Class of 1910 


Dr. GEO. BIRD GRINNELL, New York Mrs. KINGSMILL Marrs, Florida 
Me. ArtHurR H. Norton, Maine Mrs. MABEL OscooD WRIGHT, Conn. 
Mr. H. P. ATTWATER, Texas Mr. WALTER J. BLAKELY, Missouri 


Class of 1911 


Mr FRANK Bonp, Wyoming Dr. Jort A. ALLEN, New York 
Mr. T. GILBERT PEARSON, N. C. Dr. DAviID STARR JORDAN, California 


Class of 1912 


Mr. FRANK M. CHAPMAN, New York Mr. WILLIAM BREWSTER, Mass. 
Mr. WITMER STONE, Pennsylvaina Dr. FREDERICK A. Lucas, New York 
Dr. HERMAN C. Bumpus, New York Mr. Caritton D. Howe, Vermont 


Class of 1913 


Mrs, C. GRANT LAFARGE, New York Dr. JONATHAN Dwicat, JR., New York 
Dr. THEO. S. PALMER, District of Columbia. 


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illustrations. 


Send 15 cents for a single copy, or join with 
us whole-heartedly and send $1.50 for a year. 


Edward F. Bigelow 


MANAGING EDITOR 


STAMFORD — : CONNECTICUT 


iS 


The Foremost Recent Book on Animals 


By ERNEST INGERSOLL 


LIFE OF ANIMALS: The 
Mammals 


Second Edition -Enlarged. 555 Pages, Octavo. Decorated Cloth 
250 Illustrations. $2 net; By Mail, $2.24. 


HE idea of the book is to interest the reader in the life of the four-footed 
animals, not in their anatomy, nor in their imaginary sentiments; but in the 
part they daily play in the world around them, rather than in their posi- 

tion in a museum or a scheme of classification. This presentation of the theme has 
met with general approval. The critic of The Independent believes that it ‘‘contains 
just the information about living and extinct species of mammals, especially those 
most familiar, which the general non-zodlogical reader demands.’ Putnam’s Monthly 
has declared it ‘‘the best book of its kind which has appeared up to the present 
time.’’ Says the Chicago Post: ‘‘Ernest Ingersoll has for a long while been doing fine 
work . . . ‘The Life of Animals’ is just the book one wishes might be in every 
home where there are children and young people. Mr. Ingersoll has in excellent 
degree the knack of presenting in clear, sympathetic and attractive manner scien- 
tific information, zodlogical and geological, and with it a free mingling of the his- 
torical, the romantic and the adventurous. There is, however, a commendable 
absence of the . . . exaggeration of the human-like qualities in animals.’’ 

Along with this popularity the scientific accuracy of the book is well recognized, 
and it has been adopted as a book of instruction in colleges. Nowhere else is so 
intelligently traced the relation between the past (fossil history) and the present of 
the families in this most important of all animal tribes; nowhere else will be found 
explained many curious customs, such as the origin of the habit of storing winter 
food, how the opossum came to “‘play ’possum,”’ etc. 


By the same author 


WILD NEIGHBORS: Outdoor Studies in 
the United States 


With numerous photographic illustrations. Cloth, $1.50 


‘Such pleasant books as this of Mr. Ingersoll’s are delightful to both old and 
young, and ought to be put into the hands of every lad on the farm.’’—Detroit 
Free Press. 


THE MACMILLAN COMPANY, PUBLISHERS 
NEW YORK 


Among Other Issues in the Two Series of 


THE AMERICAN SPORTSMAN’S LIBRARY 


EDITED BY CASPAR WHITNEY 


"No books have ever come before us that so completely fill the want of Sportsmen and 
delight the general reader as the volumes in the American Sportsman's Library." 


— SHOOTING AND FISHING 
THE DEER FAMILY 
By the Hon. THEODORE ROOSEVELT, T. E. VAN DYKE, D. G. ELLIOTT 
and A. J. STONE 
Illustrated by Carl Rungius and others. With Maps by Dr. C. Hart Merriam 


SALMON AND TROUT 
By DEAN SAGE, W. C. HARRIS, H. M. SMITH and C. H. TOWNSEND 
Illustrated by A. B. Frost, Tappan Adney, Martin Justice and others 


UPLAND GAME BIRDS 
By EDWYN SANDYS and T. S. VAN DYKE 
Illustrated by Louis Agassiz Fuertes, A. B. Frost, J. O. Nugent and C. L. Bull 


THE WATER-FOWL FAMILY 
By L. C. SANFORD, L. B. BISHOP and T. S. VAN DYKE 
Illustrated by L. A. Fuertes, A. B. Frost and C. L. Bull 


BASS, PIKE, PERCH, AND OTHERS 
By JAMES A. HENSHALL, M.D. 
Illustrated by Martin Justice and Charles F. W. Mielatz 


THE BIG GAME FISHES OF THE UNITED STATES 
By CHARLES F. HOLDER 
Illustrated by Charles F. W. Mielatz and others 


MUSK-OX, BISON, SHEEP AND GOAT 
By CASPAR WHITNEY, GEORGE BIRD GRINNELL and OWEN WISTER 
Illustrated by Carl Rungius and others, 


GUNS, AMMUNITION AND TACKLE! ; 
THE SHOTGUN, by CAPTAIN A. W. MONEY; THE HUNTING RIFLE, 
by HORACE KEPHART; THE THEORY OF RIFLE SHOOTING, 
by W. E. CARLIN; THE PISTOL AND REVOLVER, by A. L. A. HIM- 
MELWRIGHT, and THE ARTIFICIAL FLY, by JOHN HARRING- 

TON KEENE 


THE SPORTING DOG 
By JOSEPH A. GRAHAM. Fully illustrated 


PHOTOGRAPHY FOR THE SPORTSMAN NATURALIST 
By L. W. BROWNELL. Fully illustrated from photographs by the author 


IN PREPARATION 


THE BEAR FAMILY 
By DR. C. HART MERRIAM. With]many7illustrations 


COUGAR, WILD CAT, WOLF AND FOX 


With many illustrations 


Cloth, cr. 8vo, gilt top and cover design. Each, $2 net. Postage,''15c. 


THE MACMILLAN COMPANY, Publishers, New. York 


“If I could give a child but one book this year, it would be this,” 
was said of 


MABEL OSGOOD WRIGHT'S 
(GRAY LADY AND THE BIRDS 


STORIES OF THE The book will be welcomed by adults 
BIRD YEAR almost as heartily as by younger readers. 
FOR SCHOOL For teachers and parents and all who 

believe in bird protection, it provides a 
AND HOME means of sharing their pleasure in bird life 


with the children just when they will most 


With thirty-six plates in gladly receive it. 


half-tone, and twelve E ae 

It is accurate and, on the scientific side, 
dependable, but it is far more than that; 
it is a fascinating book of stories, a glimpse 


in colors, from studies 
made for the National 


Audubon Association into the riches of poetry and fancy asso- 
under the supervision ciated with feathered things. 

of its President, Decorated cloth, xx + 437 pages 

Mr. William Dutcher $1.75 net; by mail, $1.90 


By MABEL OSGOOD WRIGHT, author of — 
BI RDCRAFT A Field Book of Two Hundred Song, Game 


and Water Birds. With 80 full-page plates 
by Louis AGASSIZ FUERTES. . 


Eleventh Edition, xii + 317 pages, 
flexible cloth, rounded corners, $2 net 


and, with Dr. ELLIOTT COUES 
CITIZEN BIRD SCENES FROM BIRD- LIFE IN PLAIN 


ENGLISH FOR BEGINNERS. Profusely 
Illustrated by LouIs AGASSIZ FUERTES. 


Cr., 8 vo. $1.50 net, postage 1'7 cents 
This was described by C. H. M., in Science, as “by far the best bird book for 


boys and girls yet published in America,” and the statement has remained undisputed 
up to the publication of ‘Gray Lady and the Birds,” which is by one of its authors. 


TE MACMILLAN COMPANY, Publishers, New York 


A New Book by “Barbara” 


(MABEL OSGOOD WRIGHT) 


THE OPEN WINDOW 


Tales of the Months Told by Barbara 


Cloth, 12mo, with frontispiece, $1.50 


THE OTHER DELIGHTFUL BOOKS BY ‘‘BARBARA’’: 


The Garden of a Commuter’s Wife. Illustrated from photographs 


‘Reading it is like having the entry into a home of the class that is the 
proudest product of our land, a home where love of books and love of nature go 
hand in hand with hearty simple love of ‘folks.’ . . . It is a charming 
book.’’—The Interior. 


The People of the Whirlpool Illustrated 


‘©The whole book is delicious, with its wise and kindly humor, its just 
perspective of the true values of things, its clever pen pictures of people and 
customs, and its healthy optimism for the great world in general.’’—Phila- 
delphia Evening Telegraph. 


The Woman Errant 


‘« The book is worth reading. It will cause discussion. It is an interesting, 
fictional presentation of an important modern question, treated with fascinating 
feminine adroitness.’?—Miss JEANETTE GILDER in The Chicago Tribune. 


At the Sign of the Fox 


‘*Her little pictures of country life are fragrant with a genuine love of nature, 
and there is fun as genuine in her notes on rural character. A traveling pieman 
is one of her most lovable personages; another is Tatters, a dog, who is humanly 
winsome and wise, and will not soon be forgotten by the reader of this very 
entertaining book.’’—The New York Tribune. 


The Garden, You and I 


‘* This volume is simply the best she has yet put forth, and quite too deli- 
ciously torturing to the reviewer, whose only garden is in Spain. . . . The 
delightful humor which pervaded the earlier books, and without which 
Barbara would not be Barbara, has lost nothing of its poignancy, and would 
make The Garden, You and I pleasant reading even to the man who 
doesn’t know a pink from a phlox or a Daphne cneorum from a Cherokee 
rose.’’—Congregationalist. 


Each, in decorated cloth binding, $1.50 


THE MACMILLAN COMPANY, Publishers 


64-66 FIFTH AVENUE, NEW YORK 


J. HORACE MCFARLAND CO., MT. PLEASANT PRESS, HARRISBURG, PAs 


A New Bird Book by Mr. Chapman 


CAMPS AND CRUISES 


OF AN 


ORNITHOLOGIST ~ 


SUO., 432 pages, decorated 
250 remarkable photographs cover, gilt top, rough-eut edges. 
taken from nature. Price, $3.00, net. 


This book contains the results of Mr. Chapman’s past eight years’ field work in various parts 
of North America, from the Atlantic to the Pacific, from the Bahamas to northwest Canada. 

Its value consists not alone in the large amount of original information concerning North 
America birds which it presents, but also in descriptions of adventures and experiences, ashore 
and afloat, interesting alike to the naturalist and general reader. 


Such chapters as have before appeared are here revised and enlarged, but the greater 
number have net before been published. 


FRANK M.CHAPMAN 


Curator of Birds in The American Museum of Natural History 


D. APPLETON & COMPANY, Publishers, NEW YORK 


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